Friend of the Knight
by Sarah Chante
Summary: A girl lost her parents to two bullets in an alley by Arkham Asylum. She is sent to live with her godfather, Bruce Wayne, the most famous billionaire in Gotham City. What happens when she tries to find the mystery murderer of her parents, and meets Batman
1. The Fancy World of Gotham

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I lost my parents a few weeks ago. They were the nicest people, in fact the only nice people, who lived on the far side of the Narrows. It was the only place we could afford at the time. Both of them were cops, but very poor ones. So we lived on the criminal side of the Narrows. We always had the doors locked, windows closed, and since I was afraid that someone would break in, I slept with the light on. Plus, I was scared of the dark. I know, pathetic isn't it? Hear I am, a twelve year old, and I'm still afraid of the dark. People say that when you're afraid of the dark, it just means that you're afraid that the dark plays tricks on people. Well they obviously have not been to the Narrows. We should've been rich though. My mom grew up in the fancy world of Gotham City. When she met my dad, a deputy who worked part time as a waiter, all that changed. It was like an innocent romance movie. My dad said when he first saw her, he accidently tripped with a tray of dirty dishes, and lost his job. Then mom got his job back, and they've been close until their wedding day. Her parents didn't approve of their relationship, but mom didn't care. So, in order to be with my dad, my mom cut herself out of the inheritance money, and lived with my dad, and studied to be a police officer. They were detectives when they died. I woke up to find Sergent Gordon knocking on my door the next morning, telling me that my parents were shot in the head, while investigating something that a big crime boss, Carmine Falcone, had done. I never spoke a word since. When I sat in Gordon's office at the police station, I heard conversations between Gordon and my mother's relatives. My dad was an only child, and his parents died when he was in college. Mom's realtives or parents didn't want anything to do with me. I didn't care. I never liked them anyway. They were so stuck-up.

"Yes, I understand..."I heard Gordon reply on the phone. "...She has nowhere to go...You are a living relative...I see...Well, then, thank you,"

Gordon shook his head. Another unwilling relative to take me in. Flask, a big dumb hairy person who I think resembles a lazy ape, waddled into the office and gave one short look at me. I never liked him either. As you can probably tell right away, I'm a quick judge of character. I haven't decided if that was a good thing or a bad thing yet.

"Any luck with finding the kid a place to crash?" he asked.

"No," Gordon shook his head looking at me.

I didn't like it when people looked at me, so I just sunk back into a book I was reading. I liked reading books. Mostly about people who protect other people, or just give them hope. It was like entering into my own personal world. But I still listened to their conversation.

"Not wanting to handle the kid huh?" Flask scoffed. "Put her in the orphanage,"

"Absolutely not," Gordon dismissed it. "Luke and Jennifer wouldn't want her to be in places like those,"

"What do ya mean? They've got beds, food, kids her age, she's all set,"

I shuddered. Mom and Dad told me about the orphanages. They weren't well kept, the beds were lumpy, and most of the kids there were down right mean, and hardly any couple goes in and looks at them. If I wanted to go into an orphanage, I want to go in one where no one thinks I'm a bad kid. Gordon rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well..." he said. "She does have a godfather. But he's dead. No one's seen him for seven years,"

"Who?" asked Flask.

"Bruce Wayne,"

My parents knew Bruce Wayne. Mainly because he was the only nice rich person in Gotham and he still treated them as equals. I never met the man. The only things I knew about him was that his parents were killed by a man named Joe Chill, and his father owned Wayne Enterprises. My parents asked him to be my godfather when I was born, and he gladly accepted. But he disappeared after Joe Chill was killed, and that happened when I was five. He was declared dead after a search party had ended.

"Maybe I can get Alfred, his butler, to get in on this," Gordon wondered as he dialed a number.

I listened to his conversation from the corners of my book.

"Hello, Alfred Pennyworth?" he started. "Sergent Jim Gordon, Gotham City Police Department. I have a little girl here named Sarah Chante, I believe you know her parents Luke and Jennifer...I'm sorry to say this but their bodies were found near Arkham Asylum early this morning. Mr. Pennyworth, is it true that your master Bruce Wayne has chosen to be Sarah Chante's godfather...I know he's gone, but we were wondering if you could take her in. Her relatives don't want her, unfortunetly, and Mr. Wayne, accoring to my records, should be her guardian...Yes...Really?...Thank you very much...Yes, we'll be right over,"

With a smile, Gordon hung up the phone, and turned to me.

"Guess what?" he said.

I couldn't guess. I already knew. I just gave him a questioning look as if to say "What?"

"You have a home," he said. "Why don't you go get your stuff, and we'll go and meet Alfred,"

I nodded quietly and sadly, got up, and gathered my stuff. I had to ride in the back of a police car on the way there. When we were driving to the country part of Gotham, I looked out the window, holding a golden locket around my neck. I remember when my mother gave it to me. When I was eight I noticed how pretty my mom's locket was. Dad gave it to her for their anniversary, and I've asked for one. For my birthday, I got a heart shaped locket with my parents picture inside it. It was my only treasure...besides my books. If anything should happen to my mothers locket, though, I'd probably have my heart broken. When we were coming up on the Wayne Manor, I suddenly admired it's beauty. It reminded me of one of those places you find in classical books. We pulled up in front of the door as an elderly man stepped out. He seemed like a nice person. As I gathered my things, Sergent Gordon stepped out and talked to Alfred Pennyworth.

"Alfred," Gordon shook the man's hand. "Thanks for taking her in,"

"Pleasure is all mine," Alfred said. "I'm sure Mister Wayne would have wanted her to have a home,"

"Go easy on her. She hasn't spoken all morning. She didn't even cry when we delivered the news of her parents death. All we got was a face of shock,"

"The child lost her parents in an unfortunete way,"

"I know. But I think she'll be easy to handle. She's a good kid. Just grew up in a bad part of the city,"

I closed the door on the police car, and looked at the two men as I carried my suitcase and a backpack over my shoulder.

"Sarah," Gordon introduced us. "This is Alfred Pennyworth. He's going to take care of you,"

"Miss Sarah, it's a pleasure to meet you," Alfred stuck out his hand.

With a free hand, I shook it, and gave him a small smile. He seemed nice. Gordon left me at the manor, and I watched the police car drive out of sight. Alfred put a hand on my shoulder.

"How about I get those bags for you?" he suggested.

He seemed to want to carry my stuff, so I let him, and led me into the house. It was even more gorgeous on the inside. I couldn't help but look around like a kid on Christmas Shopping, looking at all the wonderful toys. Still, I kept up with Alfred as he spoke.

"You know," he said. "You look so much like your mother. I remember when I first had the pleasure of meeting her. When Master Bruce was in a private school, he was friends with your mother, and we often had the oppurtunity of having her here,"

I smiled at that. My mom did tell me about her days at a private school. She said most girls there were snobby, and boys only liked you if you had money. Alfred led me up to a room that would have been mistaken for a living room.

"If you need anything," Alfred said as I set my stuff down. "You can ask me or just help yourself. Just make yourself at--,"

Suddenly, I heard the phone ring. Alfred smild, excused himself from my room and unpacked. Maybe I could get used to this. I'm pretty sure that Alfred had a library in this place so I could read. Outside my window was a garden. It was mangled, but maybe I could fix it. You know, just so I could help out. I sat on the window seat and looked at it. It looked like a good place to read books. Even if it was unkept. It looked like nobody had been in there for a long time. It would be my garden. My own Secret Garden. I heard a knock on my door, and Alfred stood at the doorway. He had a pale look on his face. I looked at him questioningly. Was he all right? He noticed my worry and sort of laughed.

"Forgive me," he said. "I just got off the phone with a friend,"

I still looked at him, wondering what was wrong. But nothing was. It was just a surprising call.

"Miss Sarah...Master Wayne is alive,"

(A/N: I hope you guys liked this first chapter. Please review. And no flames please. This is my first Batman Begins Story)


	2. I Know How You Feel

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

The next thing I knew, I was on a jet plane early the next morning. Apparently, Bruce Wayne had been in the Middle East these past seven years. I didn't know why. Didn't he know that everyone was looking for him? What was he doing there? I had to wonder. It was still very early in the morning when we landed. I hadn't noticed, because I was reading another book in a corner on the plane with a blanket over me. As Alfred stepped off the plane, I looked out the window. There was Bruce Wayne walking up to his butler. He looked as though he went on a perilous journey, given the amount of mud that was on his clothes.

"Master Wayne," I heard Alfred. "You've been gone a long time,"

"Yes I have," I heard Bruce.

"You look very fashionable...apart from the mud,"

After a while, I heard the two come up the stairs onto the jet as it started up again. I never looked up, but I could feel Bruce's gaze on me. I could tell he was surprised to see a twelve year old on his private jet plane. He turned to Alfred.

"Alfred," he whispered. "Who is that?"

Alfred gave a smile.

"That is Sarah Chante," he said.

"Chante?" asked Bruce. "Luke and Jennifer's child?"

"Yes, sir. Amazing what twelve years can do to a child,"

Bruce started to get a bit worried.

"Where are they?" he lowered his voice.

I buried myself in my book trying to block the conversation out. I knew Bruce didn't want me to hear it, but I still could. Alfred looked a bit sad.

"They were murdered, sir," he said. "Sarah hasn't spoken a word since,"

Once again, I felt Bruce's gaze, but I still didn't look up. The memories of Gordon coming to my home telling me that my parents were dead, were still playing in my mind. So, Bruce and Alfred sat in a chair each on the other side of the plane and talked to each other. I soon fell asleep in the chair, my hand still gripping the book I was reading.

* * *

Reader's POV:

Bruce watched Sarah Chante fall asleep in her seat. He turned and looked at Alfred.

"How did it happen?" he asked.

"They were investigating in the Narrows, sir," Alfred replied. "And they were shot in the head,"

"Didn't Jennifer have any relatives?"

"Yes, sir. But they didn't want anything to do with the poor child. As you know, Jennifer cut herself from the inheritance that her late parents were willing to give to their children, in order to be with her husband. The child grew up in the Narrows,"

"The Narrows? Why didn't Jennifer come to me? I would've helped her out,"

"You know Jennifer. She was always independent. But then, Jennifer's parents died, she knew she wasn't going to get any money from them, and left with Luke and Sarah to find a place to live, since the apartment in Gotham wasn't going to be theirs any longer,"

Bruce sighed as he looked out the window.

"Are you coming back to Gotham for long sir?" Alfreed asked him.

"As long as it takes," Bruce declared. "I'm gonna show the people of Gotham their city doesn't belong to the criminals and the corrupt,"

"In the depression, your father nearly bankrupted Wayne Enterprises combating poverty. He believed that his example would inspire the wealth of Gotham to save their city,"

"Did it?"

"...In a way. Their murder shocked the wealthy and the powerful into action,"

"...People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy, and I can't do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man, I'm flesh and blood. I can be ignored. I can be destroyed. But as a symbol...as a symbol I can be incorruptable. I can be everlasting,"

"What symbol?"

"Something...elemental. Something terrifying,"

"I assume that as you take on the underworld, this symbol is a persona to protect those you care about from reprisals,"

"You're thinking about Rachel?"

Alfred chuckled.

"Actually sir," he replied. "I was thinking of myself,"

Bruce smiled. He remembered his child-hood friend, Rachel Dawes. She worked as an Assistant D.A for Gotham.

"Have you told anyone I'm coming back?" he asked.

"I just couldn't figure the legal ramifications of bringing you back from the dead," Alfred explained.

"_Dead_?"

"You've been gone seven years,"

"You had me declared _**dead**_?"

"Well, actually, it was Mr. Earle. He's taking the company public. He wanted to liquidate your majority shareholds. Those shares are worth quite a bit of money, sir,"

"...Well, it's a good thing I left everything to you then,"

"Quite so, sir," Alfred leaned back in his chair. "And you can borrow the Rolls if you like. Just bring it back with a full tank,"

* * *

The day went by quickly, I suppose. The funeral was tomorrow, so I decided to go to bed early. For hours, though I stayed there, restless, staring up at the cieling. My room was only lit with a lamp since, like I said before, I was kind of afraid of the dark. I didn't know what was wrong. My bed was comfortable enough to make me fall asleep, my covers were warm, my pajama's kept me comfortable...but then it hit me. Tomorrow would be the last time I would say goodbye to my parents. Wiping a stray tear away from my face, I got up. Alfred said when I first came here, I could ask if I wanted some hot coco. Wrapping a robe around me, I quietly slunk out of my room, and down the hall. My bare feet slapped against the marble floor with each step I took. Suddenly, I heard a squeak when I turned the corner. I furrowed my eyebrows. Where was it coming from? Then, I heard a fluttering noise, and I looked up. In a high corner, was a bat fluttering about. I've seen bats around the Narrows sometimes, but never up close. It was an interesting sight to see. There it was, dancing and flying about, entertaining me with it's cleverness and ability to fly. Bruce came out of his study, wondering the same thing I was wondering. How did this bat get in here? Alfred soon came with a silver tea tray.

"Blessed bat again, sir," he said to Bruce. "They nest somewhere in the grounds...Miss Sarah, what are you doing up?"

I gave a half shrug. Bruce put a hand on my shoulder.

"I take her back to bed, Alfred," he said.

"Yes sir," Alfred said as Bruce led me away.

Alfred went into the study, as I walked with Bruce. There was an awkward silence between us. We never actually knew each other very well to start off a conversation.

"I know how you feel," he said as we neared my room.

I looked at him puzzled.

"When I lost my parents, I never spoke either for a while," he continued. "They were killed right in front of me. We went to go see an opera, and I asked if we could go home. We went out the back alley, and the next thing I knew, a man came and shot my parents after robbing them. He left me alive,"

I still looked at him as I climbed back into my bed. He looked at me with the same puzzled look I gave him.

"You," he said. "You were lucky. You didn't have to see them die...But then I guess you weren't. You never got the chance to say goodbye, didn't you?"

I shook my head slowly. Bruce nodded in understanding. Then he pointed at my necklace. I never take it off, even when I'm sleeping.

"That's a pretty nice locket," he commented. "Your parents gave it to you?"

I nodded, opening it, showing him my parents picture. He sat by my bed, and looked at them.

"Yeah," he said. "You're parents were good people, weren't they?"

Again, I nodded as I closed the locket back up.

"Don't worry. Things are gonna get better. I promise,"

He turned to turn off my lamp on the bedside table, but I stopped him. He didn't know I was afraid of the dark. He looked at me, quizzingly. Then he got the picture.

"I see," he said softly. "...Good night,"

I nodded at him as he closed the door. I spent the rest of the night with my head filled with memories of my parents, before the time came to say goodbye.

(A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I'll update soon. Oh! And if you guys like Harry Potter, check my story out please)


	3. The Scum of the Narrows

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

The funeral seemed to go on forever. My relatives on my mothers side had shown up and some friends on the police force that had worked with my parents on a few cases. Never in my life have I ever witnessed a most somber atmosphere. I was quiet, as usual, on the drive over. The funeral took place outside in the rain. It just occured to me. What is it with funerals and rain? The answer was simple. To me, rain meant that the sky was crying. That's what it felt like. The sky was crying for my parents. The sky was crying for me. Bruce held an umbrella over me and him, while Alfred recieved his own. We walked slowly to the caskets that were under a tent to protect ourselves from the rain. Chairs were sat in there, and those who occupied them were my realtives. The police force was standing up. The difference? The cops respected and loved my parents. My own flesh and blood didn't. When we reached the tent, Bruce and Alfred closed the umbrellas. My relatives didn't notice that the Prince of Gotham had returned. the looked at me. To them, I was the spawn of scum in the family. All because I wasn't rich like them. All because my mother cared about love more that a silly piece of paper. And those events happened to end up with one result: Me. The "Scum of the Narrows". The "Spawn of Traitors". The "Poor Little Rich Girl". Some shot glares at me as if my very presence insulted them. But they knew I would come to my parents funeral. Question was though...why did they?

"Well, well, well." said my Uncle Edgar. "Look who showed up. The Scum of the Narrows,"

I didn't say anything as I sat down in a chair far from them, but as close to my parents coffins as possible. I didn't see, but I could tell Bruce was shocked. Never in his life had he heard a family member insult another. Another reason was that I didn't say anything back to my uncle. I felt his gaze, but I didn't look at him. My eyes were staring at my reflection on the black coffins.

"Excuse me," he said to my uncle. "I don't think insulting your niece at a funeral is appropriate. Especially when it was her who lost someone,"

"And who just might you be?" My uncle asked jeering.

"...Bruce Wayne,"

Most of my relatives, and the police force looked up in awe. Here was a man whom they thought was dead. Bruce didn't say anything, so he and Alfred sat down next to me. My uncle, however, was not done. Figures. He spoke for everybody on my mothers side.

"And where were you?" he asked.

Bruce hesitated before he answered. I was wondering the same thing. Where did he go? And why did it take him seven years to come back? I didn't press the matter, though.

"Vacation," he simply said.

"Ha!" My uncle laughed. "So you had a seven year vacation after Joe Chill's trial, and you turn up and take in this little brat,"

"With all due respect, Mr. Mason," Alfred spoke up. "I think it would be wise to hold you comments until after the funeral,"

Uncle Edgar glared at Alfred.

"You think we came here for Luke and Jennifer?' he asked.

I should've known. They only came to see if my parents left them anything valuable. At this thought, I hid my locket. But we barely had any money, so why were they there? My mother was pretty sure her parents didn't leave us anything, so she didn't show up at the reading of their will when they died. After the sermon, we all witnessed the caskets being lowered to the ground. The thought of my parents being buried brought tears to my eyes. I took a glance at my relatives. Some had smiles on their faces. How could they be so cruel? All they ever thought about was money. They were practically swimming in billions. Why would they need more? My parents taught me that there was more to life than being rich. They taught me love, courage, and honesty. But all that went away with two fateful gunshots. I turned back to the sinking coffins at that thought. Tears started to stream down my face. Why did they have to die? Why did they have to leave me? Bruce put a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head slowly. I didn't want anyone's comfort or pity. Not at the moment, at least. The next thing I knew, I was running across the cemetary as fast as I could. I wanted to run away from my problems. Away from my relatives. Away from anything that was going to make me cry. I hated my relatives now. I never actually did before, but how could they just come to a funeral and expect to get money? They were heartless. As I reached the car, I opened the door to the backseat, and I cried as hard as I could, as though it would bring my parents back from the dead.

**Readers POV:**

As soon as the funeral was over, Bruce turned to Alfred.

"Alfred," he said. "Go and check on Sarah, please. I think the ceremony really upseted her,"

"Yes sir," Alfred understood.

As soon as Alfred walked away. Bruce was confronted my a man in his late 40's. He had brown hair turning into a light shade of grey, and a kind looking face.

"Mr. Wayne?" he asked sticking out his hand.

"Yes," Bruce shook it.

"Matthew MacCallister. I'm handeling the reading of Luke and Jennifer Chante's will. I believe you are taking care of their child, Sarah Chante,"

"Yes. I'm her godfather,"

"We were going to start with their daughter present, but it seems she's been through enough,"

Bruce nodded at that.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We're gonna take her home,"

"I was wondering if you would stop by City Hall to be a represenative for her," MacCallister said. "They'll start in an hour,"

"Of course. I'll just have Alfred watch Sarah, and I'll be there as soon as possible,"

"Thank you. Oh! And welcome back sir,"

"Thank you,"

Bruce watched the man leave, and sigh when he looked at the two graves of Luke and Jennifer. Taking two roses, he threw one each on their coffins. He looked over at Luke Chante's resting place. He remembered when he first met Luke. He was at that dinner party with Jennifer (as friends) and Luke was a caterer. He had just gotten the job while he was training up to become a deputy for Gotham City. Bruce was the one who got them togethor, and about two years later, they were married and had Sarah. He looked at his friend, Jennifer's grave. He met her in school. Of course, they both were in different grades, Jennifer in sixth, and Bruce in second, but they became fast friends.

"I'll take care of her, Jennifer," he said. "I promise,"

And so Bruce left the cemetary and got into the backseat with Sarah, and drove home. When they got to the sanctity of the Wayne Manor, Sarah just walked upstairs to her room before anyone couldsay anything. Bruce left Alfred to care for Sarah while he had gone to City Hall. When he got there, he couldn't remember how many shocked glances he had gotten before in his life. People were stopping what they were doing, and looking at him on his way to the meeting room. Who could blame them though? They all thought he was dead. He finally got to the meeting room where the Masons, Jennifer Chante's family, were all ready.

"Mr. Wayne," MacCallister said from the head of the table. "Thanks for coming,"

"Bruce nodded as he sat down.

"All right," MacCallister continued. "We're gonna try and keep this short, but I know all of you will have opinions so I'm just gonna come out and say it: The daughter gets everything,"

At this remark, there were several uproars of protests, mostly from Edgar. MacCallister quieted down.

"You all knew this was going to happen. The decision is final,"

"Excuse me," Bruce spoke up. "May I just say one thing? Luke and Jennifer Chante were a middle class family that lived in the Narrows. May I as what their daughter, Sarah Chante, will be recieving?"

"Everything that belonged to Luke and Jennifer, and 2 million dollars,"

Edgar stood up in rage.

"Where in the world would that little brat be getting two million dollars?" he asked.

MacCallister furrowed his eyebrows.

"Edgar," he said. "Don't you remember what your parents said in _their_ will, when _they_ died two years ago?"

Bruce watched as MacCallister got a paper from his briefcase. He held it up.

"This," he said. "Is Edward and Ginerva Mason's Last Will and Testament. They died two years ago, and left something to their grandchild, Sarah Chante. Luke and Jennifer knew about it, but they decided to tell her when she came of age. And if I may remember correctly, it caused Edgar to throw a vase at a wall with this particular decison,"

Edgar grumbled to himself as MacCallister put on his reading glasses.

"_Although we wish to give her and her family money from inheritance_," he read the will. "_The only thing we can give out youngest daughter, Jennifer Ginerva Mason-Chante, is out deepest love. She has no interest in inheriting the money, and we respect that. But we are concerned about their only child and out grandaughter, Sarah Elizabeth Chante. We feel that she has great potential in education so we hereby give her Jennifer's inheritance money, which consists of 2 million dollars, to use at her convenience when she comes to the age of 18. To our granddaughter, we give our love and the best of luck in her life_,"

To this, Bruce smiled. So, not all of Sarah's family hated her. But, it faded away when he looked at Edgar's face

"So," he said. "The only reason you came here was for money. Mainly my goddaughter's inheritance money from her grandparents,"

Edgar sneered.

"There's nothing special about that child," he said.

"Actually, you're wrong," Bruce disagreed. "I also see potential in the Chante's child. She seems like a very bright girl,"

Edgar turned to MacCallister.

"What about gaurdianship?" he asked.

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. Why would Edgar be asking about Sarah's gaurdianship?

"Luke and Jennifer wanted Mr. Wayne to look after Sarah," MacCallister explained. "Edgar give it up. Sarah Chante is given the 2 million. It will be placed in an account under a personal password, under lock and key, in tight security. And she's already placed in the care of Bruce Wayne, and he's in charge of her money until she's 18. This meeting is over,"

**Sarah's POV:**

It was until after dinner when I heard Bruce come through the fron door. I hardly ate, but I wasn't that hungry. I sat in the living room watching the news and sort of reading at the same time. All I heard was the return of Bruce Wayne. I popped in now and then, so I turned it off. Publicity wasn't my thing at times. I guess it was something I had to get used to if I was gonna live at the Wayne Manor. Bruce came in, and I looked up closing my book.

"Sarah," he said. "Can you come with me?"

I obeyed, and walked with him to his office. He at down in a chair behind his desk, and I stood beside him lookingat the computer. It was a site that led to a bank account under my name. Hang on. Since when did I get an account? And I certainly recall not having 2 million dollars. Bruce looked at me.

"Turns out your grandparents gave you your mother's inheritance money," he explained. "Your parents left you everything,"

I nodded, understanding.

"I've got your account set up," he continued. "I want you to use it for emergencies and education. Understand?"

I nodded again. Besides, what else was I gonna do with 2 million dollars? Bruce then told me I could create a password. Then I started thinking. Just to be on the safe side, I wanted to choose a password that no one else would try to think of. Something that wasn't exactly me. Something that wasn't obvious. I thought long and hard until I typed up three letters.

**BAT**


	4. Baby of Mine

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

Monday came around. That only meant one thing: School. Over the weekend, Bruce had enrolled me in Gotham City Private. That was the same school my mother went to when she was my age. I had to wear a uniform of course. For girls, I had to wear a white blouse underneath a green plaid vest with a matching skirt. Complete with white stockings and black buckled shoes. I couldn't tell if I was nervous or not. Maybe it won't be so bad. You get to start over, make new friends. Only problem was that my cousins went to the same school. One cousin was in the same grade as me: Josh Mason, Uncle Edgar's son. Now, I don't want to go. Alfred drove me and Bruce to the school, and Bruce went with me. He said he had to talk to the principal first. As we sat on the bench outside the front office, I noticed a lot of things the students had. A couple of girls were talking about going to a movie premiere. Boys were talking about a video game that wasn't even out in stores yet. I had none of these things. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a young woman in her late 30's.

"Mr. Wayne," she said. "I'm Katherine Rose, Headmistress here at Gotham City Private,"

"Pleasure," Bruce shook her hand. "This is my goddaughter, Sarah,"

"Sarah, it's wonderful to finally meet you,"

I shoook Mrs. Rose's hand

"Mr. Wayne," Mrs. Rose started. "I'd like a few words with you in my office. Sarah, can you wait for just a few minutes?"

I nodded and sat down on the bench as Bruce and Mrs. Rose went into the office. The bell had rung and all the students went to their classes. Then a wonderful sound filled the halls. Silence. It helped me focus on things. In this case, my imagination. I closed my eyes, waiting for a picture in my head...A park came into view. With swings, and slides, and jungle gyms...then my parents came. We were having a great time, until I heard a voice.

"Hey scummy," I heard my cousin, Josh Mason.

**Reader's POV:**

Mrs. Rose had Bruce sit down in a chair in front of her desk as she took out a file that looked like Sarah's permanent record.

"Mr. Wayne," she started. "As you know, Gotham City Private is one of the most prestigous schools in the city. We have students from wealthy families, and Europe as well. Sarah's education is our first and foremost top priority. But I am concerned of how she will fit in with the rest of her classmates,"

"What are your concerns?" Bruce asked.

"Social life effects education, Mr. Wayne. If you have many friends, grades can go up or go down. Now, Sarah's grades are very good. Some A's and B's here and there. But our students look at others of how wealthy they are and where they come from. It seems that her cousin has told his classmates that she came from the Narrows. We had a student a few years ago who came from the Narrows district, and it didn't go so well with him. Students found out where he came from, and shunned him from various social activities. I'm not saying your goddaughter shouldn't go to this school. I'm just concerned of her well being,"

"As am I, Mrs. Rose. Sarah suffered the loss of her parents last week, and she hasn't spoken a word. Until she has decided to speak, I want her to feel as comfortable as possible. I want her to have the best education provided for her,"

"...Then you came to the right place,"

**Sarah's POV:**

"What are you doing here, Scummy?" Josh asked me.

I ignored him. Mom and Dad always said the best thing for something to go away was to not respond it. To help, I took out my book and started reading. But I only read two words when Josh slapped the book out of my hands.

"I'm talking to you,"

I didn't say anything as I picked up my book. Josh laughed a bit.

"Dad said you won't say anything," he sneered. "Says you think it'll probably bring your parents back,"

I tried to concentrate on reading my book, but some part of me wanted to hear what he wanted to say.

"They're _never_ coming back," he continued. "They're six feet under, **rotting**. And guess what? They never liked you anyway...**_No one_** likes you. And they never will,"

"JOSH!"

I looked up to find that Mrs. Rose and Bruce had come out of the office.

"Why aren't you in class?" Mrs. Rose asked.

Josh started to stutter.

"I--I was, um--" he said.

"Go,"

Giving one last glare at me, Josh scattered. I watched him leave as I put my book away.

"Well," Mrs. Rose started. "We have her schedule, so you can leave her for now with us, Mr. Wayne,"

"If you need to contact me, I'll be at Wayne Enterprises," Bruce said.

Bruce gave me a smile, and walked away. A pit in my stomach started to grow as I walked with Mrs. Rose to my first class. I had gotten use to having him around. It was nice to have someone who knew what I was going through. Now it felt like he was feeding me to the dogs. My classes were fine. But I kept getting glances and hearing people talk about me. Despreatly, I wanted them to stop. Except, my opinion didn't matter here. Here, I was the prisoner, wrongfully, and they were the judge and the jury. Whatever sentance they would give me, I would have to face alone. Hours later, lunch came around. It didn't seem that satisfying. Neither did the company. I decided to sit with a bunch of girls that I didn't know. But as I set my tray down, they looked at me as if I was doing something stupid. Apparently I was. Sitting with them would only draw attention to my prescene. Attention that nobody would want. They knew where I came from, and didn't want me to join. I had second thoughts and left them. Now that I had done so, I didn't feel so hungry. I turned in my tray, and went outside to wait for the second half of school to start. I forgot my book, so I couldn't plunge myself into other worlds. As girls jump-roped and hopped scotch, I noticed the fence. It was a wire fence that let you see the other side. I entwined my fingers onto it. This fence was my prison bars. And there was no way I could escape it.

"Hey! Josh! Give it back!" I heard a small voice.

I looked behind me, and I saw Josh with his friends, picking on a boy who appeared to be in the 2nd grade. Instantly, I became somewhat angered, as Josh held a comic book by its pages, taunting the little boy. Why does he prey on those smaller than him? Why does he do the things he did? The next thing I knew, I was walking toward them. My mind shouted at me to go back, but I couldn't. I snatched the comic book out of Josh's hands, and gave it to the little boy. He gave me a toothy grin, which warmed my heart as he scurried away. But as I turned back, I had seen that Josh's face had turned beet red. I had ruined his fun, and I was going to pay.

"Think you're brave, huh, scummy?" Josh asked as he pushed me.

I almost fell ackward as the other kids looked at what was happening. Actually, I was the opposite of brave. I was scared. Always. Josh never had the pleasure of experiencing the world I grew up in. I tried to walk away but Josh grabbed my arm, turned me around, and punched me square in the nose. Stumbling backwards, I held it, which was now gushing blood. Onlookers snickered and some laughed at my pain. I did nothing, but try to walk away again, except Josh wasn't finished. I felt a tug, and the sound of metal crashing on the ground rung in my ears. My hands reached my neck, and I felt that the golden locket my parents gave me was gone. Looking around, I saw it on the ground, broken in half. Josh found one more thing to hurt me. I couldn't believe it. My favorite thing in the world had been lost. Broken. I heard the principal come out and order people to go back inside as I picked up the broken pieces. I dared not make a move. Everything in the world seemed to have stopped. I couldn't hear the sound of my heart, but I could tell it was still beating, for I was breathing out silent sobs as tears streamed from my eyes. The principal helped me up, and led me to her office. She gave me a cloth to put on my nose, and a few minutes later, I heard her call Bruce and ask if he could come take me home. Relief filled some of my emotional state, but my mind still thought of the broken locket that I gripped in my hand. My parents pictures were in that locket. It was all I had left of their faces. But my mothers family seemed to want to take that away from me. I heard the door open a half hour later, and Bruce walked in, immedietly taking notice of my situation.

"What happened?" he asked.

I simply opened my hand to reveal the broken heart necklace. I closed my bloodshot eyes as tears rolled down my cheeks. Bruce sat on the bench with me, and held my head against his shoulder as I cried silent sobs. Mrs. Rose came out of her office.

"Mr. Wayne," she said. "I'm sorry to pull you out of work sir, but we felt you should be informed of this,"

"It's fine," Bruce said softly.

For the next few minutes I listened to their conversation. Apparently, the little boy I helped out returned the debt I never asked for. He knew I would be in trouble and had told the principal. To this day, I am grateful for the little boy. I had stopped crying by the time they reached the end. Bruce's expensive suit was wet with tears and I think a bloodstain was on it from my nose on his shoulder. He didn't seem to care about that. The deal was I could go home and I could come back to school whenever I felt like it. It seemed like a pretty good idea to me. Bruce took me home, where I just stared out the window, with no sign of emotion beside sadness on my face. I raced upstairs going two at a time, or as far as my buckled shoes could take me. I closed the door behind me, and looked at the locket. Letting out a frustated sigh I threw it on my dresser, and fell on my bed, burying my face in my pillow. Slowly, memories started to form in my head. One particular one was when my mother was tucking me safely in bed, singing.

(A/N: I don't own "Baby Mine")

_Baby mine, don't you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine._

I stayed in my room for the rest of the night. Alfred persuaded me many times to come to dinner, but at his last attempt, Bruce suggested I'd be better left alone. I had to admit, he was right. I changed into my nightgown and climbed into bed. This time I didn't read books. I looked at my broken locket.

_Little one, when you play, don't you mind what they say. That those eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, bay of mine_.

Sleep had not come to me yet. It was near 11:30 when I decided what to do. Creeping out of ed, I tiptoed across the halls with my necklace in hand. It was dark. As you know, I was afraid of the dark, so I took a flashlight I had under my bed. I figured Alfred and Bruce were asleep. Going through the garage, I walked to the garden. My secret garden.

_If they knew sweet little you, they'd end up loving you too. All the same people who scold you...What'd they give just for the right to hold you._

In an unkept section of the garden there was a well in the corner. There didn't seem to be any water inside it, though. But I didn't care. Carefully, I took out the locket, looking at its gold shine from the broken pieces. Without hesitatin, I dropped it in the well of lost hearts. The locket was now worthless. As was I.

_From your head, down to your toes. Though that much, goodness no. That you're so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine_

My parents are gone. Josh was right. They were never coming back. Every moment I had with them was taken from me. Every memory of them vanished before my eyes. I could cry all I want, but it would never bring them back. Sitting beside the well, I rested my head on it. Starting to dream, my eyes dropped heavily, until they were closed and within seconds, I was asleep, with the stars and moon watching over me.

(A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. Sarah's gonna start talking soon, but in a few chapters later. So, keep looking back to hear her speak in a future chapter)


	5. Why do we fall?

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

The next morning, I woke up feeling the softness of my pillow. It felt so comfortable, I delved deeper into it, as if to sink into the sea, floating towards the bottom. But then I remembered what had happened the last night. I remembered that I fell asleep by the well in the garden. How did I get into my bed? The solution came to me to my tired brain. Bruce or Alfred must've found me last night, and took me inside. Or it could've been this morning. I pushed that out of my mind for a bit, as I sat up, pushing the warm covers off of me. I looked at my bedsie clock, and saw that school didn't start until for an hour. Realizing I wanted to go today, I quickly got my stuff on, brushed my hair into a ponytail, and quietly walked downstairs, and to the breakfast table. Bruce was sitting at a seat, looking tired, and drinking his coffee. Nervously, I sat as far away from him as possible. You would too if you thought someone was mad at you for sneaking outside. But Bruce noticed me walk in, and sit down at the far head of the table. He smiled at me as I poured myself some orange juice.

"Sleep well, last night?" he asked.

I didn't look up at him as I spreaded butter on my toast. Bruce just chuckled a bit.

"Listen," he said. "I'm not mad at you. You just scared me a bit. I didn't know where you were when I went to check on you,"

Check on me? It was practically midnight when I went to the well.

"But what I want to know is why you were at the well last night,"

I just avoided eye-contact, practically telling him that it was personal with the way I looked down. He just nodded.

"All right," he said. "You don't have to answer me. But I don't want you going into the garden again. Understand?"

Looking up, I nodded. Secretly, I wondered why he asked me not to go into the garden again. Did he think because of it's untidiness, it might be dangerous for me to go through all the growing plants. Maybe the well was really old, and was getting ready to crumble. Maybe it was just his way of punishing me. Finishing up my breakfast, I heard the bus pull up outside, and I rushed to the door grabbing my backpack. Bruce wished me a better day at school. I hoped it would be. When I got to the school, it was usually the same. Kids talking about things that normal kids like me didn't have. But I wasn't a normal kid. A normal kid would have parents. Unconsiously, I brought my hand up to my neck, only to find my locket wasn't safe around my neck. Then I remembered the full details of the other night. I walked into my first class, which was English. I liked English. It was my best subject. Although I didn't show it when participating with the rest of the students. I just showed it through my homework and classwork.

"All right," the teacher said to the entire class. "Can anyone tell me what an anagram is?"

There was silence from the classroom, until I saw a hand raise at the corner of my eye. A blonde-haired girl was sitting in the far corner on my right hand side.

"Miss Farris?" the teacher picked on her.

"An anagram is a word that it's letters can be used to make up another word,"

"Exactly right. Thank you Miss Farris,"

The girl seemed proud of herself. I smiled softly. She was not like the other girls, who were just sitting at their desk sending messages to each other on their cell phones. Sure, she was popular, but she was the good kind of popular. Nice, not mean. But even if I tried being friends with her, she'd probably shun me to make an impression with her friends. So I sat there listening to the teacher, until it was time for lunch. As I walked the busy halls, my books close to my chest tightly like a shy schoolgirl (which I was), I heard the girls taunting me.

"She never talks does she?" said one girl.

"What is she?" asked another. "A mute girl?"

"That's right! A mute girl!"

The girls laughed as they walked to the cafeteria. I held my books tighter. I should've stayed at home with Bruce and Alfred. When I looked up I noticed the Farris girl look at me, in a sad way. I smiled sadly. She waved at me, and mouthed "Sorry" before turning back. A bit of hope started to grow in my stomach. Still, I wanted to go outside and eat lunch, where I wanted to be alone. I was wise enough to bring my own lunch this time, and so I sat reading a book and eating my peanut butter sandwich.

"Hello," said a small voice.

Bewildered I looked up, to see the boy I had helped yesterday. What was he doing here? It was obvious he wanted to sit with me, because he did so.

"You're Sarah aren't you?" he asked.

Slowly, I nodded. Why would he know my name?

"Josh told me that you didn't talk yesterday,"

Figures.

"Why don't you?...Don't you want to talk?...How do you talk to your mommy and daddy?"

This struck my heart. Of course, he didn't know about my parents deaths, but I couldn't hide my sadness in my eyes. The little boy seemed humble enough to know this.

"You don't have a mommy and daddy?" he asked, gasping.

I shook my head. Not anymore anyway.

"But everyone's supposed to have a mommy and daddy! If they're dead or not,"

If the boy told me that long ago, I would've believed him. But I don't believe in angels anymore. There are no gaurdians in Gotham. No heroes to rescue the weak. And even if there was, who would save me? The boy introduced himself as Nathan Farris. He was related to the girl in my English class. He told me he liked comic books, in the 2nd grade, and people who help other people. In other words: Me. I really liked the kid, and it seemed like after a long time, I made a real friend outside the walls of Wayne Manor. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh coming straight toward me. I started to panic. Why wasn't he suspended? He should've been.

"What are you doing here, scummy?" he sneered at me. "Didn't I make it clear you don't belong here?"

I just looked at him. Even if I wanted to say something, I would only stutter, for fear was rushing up to my throat. Nathan had something to say, however.

"She's here because she's not afraid of you!" he said before sticking out his tongue.

This made me smile, but I bit my lip to refrain myself from laughing. I looked up at Josh, who could only glare at me.

"So..." he said. "You think you're some sort of hero now?"

I shook my head vigorously. That's not what I thought. I was just your average student trying to live life peacfully.

"Well..." Josh dug into his pocket. "Even here, heroes can get hurt,"

The thoughts that I had been thinking came true. Out of Josh's back pocket, he pulled out a knife. My eyes were as wide as saucers. I took no hesitation into running for my life. Students around the playground took notice of the knife that Josh held in his hand, and started running and screaming. Nathan went inside, probably to tell the prinicpal or call the police. I was cornered to the wire gate. As you know, it was locked, and I couldn't get out. So I took my chances. Putting my foot through one of the holes, I started to climb up. Granted, I was wearing a skirt, but I cared for my life more than getting my wardrobe ripped. As i jumped down, my white sleeve caught onto the fence. It was stuck, and I tried to pull it out, as Josh tried to stab me from the other side. With one last tug, I was free, and the next thng I knew I was running down the sidewalk, passing businessmen and women, who didn't seem to look as I rushed past them. Looking back, I saw that Josh had climbed the fence, and started running after me. This caused me to run into the street. I almost got hit by 5 or 6 taxis, but better hit by cars than getting stabbed. And by a twelve year old, no less! No older than I was! I took refuge in an opening that led to a dark place. Welcome to the Underworld of Gotham: Of which would make the Narrows seem like a resort next to this place. I never stopped running until I came across a fancy restaraunt. Inside there, was where Carmine Falcone had his business dealt with. It was because of Carmine Falcone that my parents were dead. Two gaurds were standing by the doorway, but I rushed up to the door anyway. One of them stopped me.

"Whoa whoa," he said. "No way kid. Can't go in there,"

I didn't care. I practically waved my arms around like some stupid mime, until he gave in.

"All right. But don't get too comfortable in there,"

Running into the restaraunt, nobody seemed to notice a twelve year old come in. I took a seat at a corner table, and tried to calm myself down over the events that had happened the last ten minutes. I took deep breaths as my heart raced. I lived in a crazy world. And it was just about to get crazier. When I looked ahead, I noticed Carmine Falcone talking to...wait a minute...is that...no. No it can't be? Is that _Flass_?

"I need you at the docks Thursday," Falcone said.

"Problems?" Flass asked like the lazy ape he was.

"I don't want any trouble with the last shipment,"

"Sure,"

My mind started racing with thoughts as I covered my face with a menu. What were they talking about? What shipments? Was this what were my parents were investigating? Was Falcone shipping drugs into Gotham? I listened closely to hear more details, but they changed the subject. Whatever they were talking about before, they obviously did not want to talk about it much longer.

"Word on the street is you've got a beef with someone in the D.A's office," Flass inquired.

"Is that right?" asked Falcone.

"And that there's a fat prize waiting for anyone who's willing to do anything about it,"

"So what's your point Mr. Flass?"

"Have you seen the girl? It's a cute little Assistant D.A. Don't you think that's too much heat to bring down? I mean, even for this town..."

"Never underestimate Gotham City. People get mugged coming home from work everyday of the week. Sometimes--" Falcone chuckled. "Sometimes things just go bad,"

I didn't want to hear anymore. These people were crazy. I've seen and heard enough. Running silently back out I never stopped running. The sky was growing dark as I reached back outside. I didn't realize I had stayed in that restaraunt too long, and I needed to get home. So I raced with all my might, never looking back. It would be dark before I reached the Wayne Manor. To make a long story short, I finally came home when the sun went down. Racing up the steps with every last nit of strength I had, I knocked on the door as I slumped to the ground, burying my face between my knees. I was almost hurt today. And I was in the presence of the biggest crime lord in Gotham. You would be upset too if these things happened to you. I heard the door opened, and I realized it was Alfred by the sound of his shouts, calling Bruce.

"Master Wayne!" he called before sitting down at the steps with me. "Miss Sarah, what happened to you?"

I didn't do anything. I was too tired, too scared, and too upset to do anything. I barely moved as I heard footsteps come out the door, and I knew that Bruce had come out. I heard him curse under his breath as I felt him pick me up and carry me inside.

"You all right?" he asked me.

I shook my head as he carried me into the living room and laid me down in the couch, covering me with a blanket.

"Alfred," Bruce said. "Call the police and tell them she's home,"

"Yes sir," Alfred obeyed his orders.

I took deep breaths as I closed my eyes. How could this happen to me? Josh actually hated me enough to try and kill me. My life was some stupid teen drama movie. Bruce left me for a while, but then he came back with tea and a long rectangular box.

"Come on," he said softly to me as he sat down beside me. "Sit up,"

I slowly sat up, the arm of the couch resting my back.

"I want you to listen to something...Josh has been taken into custody and taken to the juvenile facility until a hearing is scheduled. I want you to stay home tomorrow so you can rest and take things easily. You can go back to school on Friday. Do you understand me?"

I nodded slowly. Bruce gave me the tea, and I sipped it slowly as he pulled out the box he had with him. He opened it revealing a sethescope.

"My father didn't like running Wayne Enterprises," he said. "He thought it would be better off to people who were better. Well..._interested_, is how he put it,"

I smiled a bit.

"So, he worked at the hospital...I want you to see something else,"

Bruce took out the sethescope, put it to his ears, and listened to my heart. He smiled a bit.

"Looks like someone's been running fast...Now I want you to hear my heart,"

I was given the sethescope, and I listened to his heart in turn. There was silence from both of us, until we looked at each other. What was he telling me with this?

"My father and I used to do this all the time," he said. "We'd listen to each other's hearts with this. You know what I heard in yours?"

Let me guess. Fear? Lack of courage? Someone about to have a heart attack?

"Your mother and father,"

This took me by surprise.

"They may be gone Sarah, but anytime you're afraid, lonely, or just scared, and Alfred or I can't be there...just put a hand to your heart and they'll send someone to stay with you. To help you...Do you know why we fall?"

I shook my head.

"So that we can learn to pick ourselves up,"

**READER'S POV:**

Late that night, Bruce checked on Sarah, asleep in her bed. She seemed so tired, and deep in sleep. Alfred came up behind him.

"It's a terrible thing," he said. "To see a child suffer this much,"

"...This is what I meant by people needing dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy," Bruce said softly. "Gotham's been corrupeted for years, and it's finally beginning to try on its second generation,"

"Master Wayne...Do you think it would be a wise choice to tell Miss Sarah what's been going on lower foundations?"

Bruce shook his head.

"No," he said.

"With all due resepect, Master Wayne, Sarah is now a resident at Wayne Manor,"

"And she's also my responsibilty to make sure she's safe and sound, and so far I've done a lousy job at it...Sarah will be safer not knowing about what I'm becoming...I promised her someone will be there to help her though, and I will see to it that it happens,"

(A/N: Just so you guys know, Sarah's gonna meet Batman in the next chapter. She's gonna try and get some evidence on Falcone, because it was the case her parents died working on. So review please)


	6. Why did you save me?

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I stayed at Wayne Manor with Bruce and Alfred the next two days. Mostly staying in my room and reading, the days were fine when they flew past me. Bruce and Alfred said that they had some stuff to do at Wayne Enterprises, and that they trusted me alone in the house. I was fine with it. Besides, I could catch up on my reading and such. I would've liked to go out to the garden and read, but I promised Bruce that I wouldn't go over there anymore. A promise is a promise. Even though I liked to read, I was doing something else besides going into worlds where all my troubles went away. This is where we come to the rising action of our story. Remember when I told you my parents died while working on a case that had something to deal with Falcone? I decided to go and get some evidence on him, and turn it to the police. It would be the least I could do in memory of my parents. Now, I know it's not safe for a twelve-year old like me to go out to the docks in Gotham at night, but I had this sudden urge to go. I quietly planned my strategy for the last two days. It would be hard, and I would be scared, but I would be out of sight. I would be inside the truck before anyone sees me, and videotape what kind of drugs they had...plus the thrill of getting Flass busted for helping smuggle drugs into Gotham. After I carefully set my stuff in a navy backpack under my bed so no one would see, I saw a car pull up in the front of our driveway. Thinking it was Bruce and Alfred returning home, I rushed to the window. My face fell as I noticed it was Uncle Edgar in his business suit. What was he doing here? Was he mad at me for getting Josh in trouble? He shouldn't be. Josh almost sent me into the ER. I saw him go in the house, and I panicked. Was he breaking in? I quickly rushed out of my room, and down the steps only to find Alfred opening the door for Uncle Edgar. Wait. When did Alfred get here? Was Bruce home too? Alfred and Edgar looked up to find me slowly coming down the steps.

"Miss Sarah," Alfred smiled. "There you are. We were wondering where you were,"

"Sarah," Edgar smiled.

My heart raced. He just called me by my real name. Not Scummy. What was going on here? Alfred left us when he went to go get Bruce, and I was left alone with my uncle. I didn't like it. It felt uncomfortable to be around him. He looked around as he walked toward me.

"I can see that you are in excellent hands," he said. "Are you comfortable here?"

I didn't say anything to him. I just merely stared at him.

"You just won't talk to me will you?"

I shrugged. He should know by now that I won't talk to anybody. I wanted to get out of there, but I felt frozen on the spot.

"You know," Edgar said to me. "Josh is in a juvenile center...He's going to get a parole soon,"

Parole? For attempted murder? My face started to grow angry, and I glared at him. After all they had done to me, it was starting to shake my body. Edgar took notice of my sneer of disgust.

"Don't you dare look at me like that..._Scummy_," he whispered to me.

My face fell. My anger had fled, and my meek and mild self had returned. Edgar changed his mood when Bruce entered the room.

"Ah," he said. "Mr. Wayne. Wonderful to see you sir,"

"Did you need something Mr. Mason?" asked Bruce.

"I was wondering if I could have a word with you in private," Edgar turned to me. "Sorry child. Only grown-ups,"

"Actually, Sarah can come with us. I'm sure there's nothing to hide,"

Bruce gave me a smile, which made me feel safe as I walked closely to him, and as far away from Uncle Edgar as possible to Bruce's study. I sat in an window seat, while they sat in arm chairs. I watched them as they talked to each other back and forth.

"Mr. Wayne," Edgar started. "I know you've been very lonely since the death of your parents, and it feels nice to have someone like you who has that sort of experience..."

"Sarah and I had way different experiences, Edgar," Bruce interuppted. "My parents were killed in front of me, Luke and Jennifer's death wasn't of Sarah's knowledge until the morning after their death,"

"...I want custody of Jennifer's child,"

My eyes bulged as wide as they would go. I shook my head slowly. I didn't want to live with Edgar. I wanted to stay with Bruce and Alfred. Bruce knew what I was going through, and Alfred was like a grandfather to me. Edgar and my mother's family didn't know anything about me, other than I grew up in the Narrows. Bruce seemed to notice my fear, and turned to Uncle Edgar.

"Edgar," he said. "I'm sorry, but the custody of Sarah has been granted to me, and frankly, I don't think Sarah's comfortable being in the same room with you,"

"She'll have to get used to it," Edgar spat. "You have no relation to her, and I am the only family she has, along with my wife, my son, and my brother and sisters. Besides, I've already entered a file to Judge Faden asking for custody. The hearing is next week,"

A let out a silent gasp. No! I didn't want to go with him. I'd kick and scream if I had to, but I wouldn't go with Edgar. Bruce shook his head

"I'm not allowing it," he said

"She'll be fine. She'll...it's like that phrase you hear. You teach an old dog new tricks,"

"Meaning?"

"Well, look at Sarah," Edgar waved a hand at me. "She grew up in the Narrows. A hostile enviorment, full of crime and drugs, and murders. Give her to me, I can teach her to be more civilized,"

A look of shock was on my face. He thought I was a bad kid. That I wasn't good. Bruce seemed insulted by this.

"Mr. Mason," he said. "I want you to leave right now,"

Edgar looked at Bruce, and then me. I was glaring at him. How dare she say such things to me! It was cruel! Edgar got up from his seat, but then he turned back to me and Bruce.

"Although, Mr. Wayne," he said. "If you do refuse to cooperate...I will have a warrent to take her forcibly,"

I watched my uncle leave the room, and Bruce and I just stood there in silence. I did not want to be taken away. This was a good life for me. I felt safer than I had before. I didn't want to leave. Besides, why would Uncle Edgar want me? He hated me. Bruce looked at me.

"Sarah," he said. "Why don't you go and see if Alfred needs any help with dinner? I'm gonna go see if I can talk to Judge Faden about this,"

Knowing that Bruce would try to take care of it, I left the room a little relieved. My mind started to race with thoughts though. What would happen if I had to go live with Edgar? Would I never see Bruce or Alfred again? And if Josh was going on parole, would I feel safe at night? I mean if I had to live with them, I'd run away to the Narrows and stay there. I walked into the kitchen to find Alfred making spaghetti. My favorite food. He was making it with the meaty sauce that I liked. Although I barely ate it when dinner came around. I just sat there twirling my fork around in the pasta. Alfred thought I was getting sick or something, but Bruce knew better.

"It's anxiety Alfred," he said. "You sure you're not hungry Sarah?"

I nodded.

"All right. Go on upstairs to bed, and get some rest,"

Taking no hesitation, I walked out of the dining room and up the marble steps into my room. Sure it was anxiety, but it wasn't what Bruce thought it was. He thought I was scared of going to live with my uncle.Sure I was, but this was about sneaking out to get evidence on Falcone. Nobody else would do it, and I was the only one who knew about what they talked about at the restaraunt. When night fell, I turned on my lamp so I wouldn't have to stay in the dark, and waited. I had to wait and see if the coast was clear. Around 10:00, I opened my door slightly. The lights were off in the hallway. Making sure my light was still on, and pillows under the covers to make it look like I was sleeping (How original), I snuck out with my flashlight, and my backpack over my shoulder. I know what you're thinking. How can me, a quiet shy twelve-year old, get the courage to try and bust up a crime lord? I'm thinking the same thing, and frankly, I don't have the answer. I finally reached the docks, and I turned off the flashlight I had in my hand to not create attention. Men were carrying stuff in cardboard boxes into a delivery truck. Quietly, I edged closer, but still kept a close look. One of them stopped what they were doing.

"Wanna go take a break, Steiss?" he asked.

"Yeah," Another man said.

The two men left the scene, and I could tell that the coast was clear. This was my chance to get in the truck. Quietly, I climbed into the truck before anyone could notice me. It was dark, so I took my little flashlight, and ducked behind an unorganized pile of boxes, so no one would see me. Silently, I took out my video camera. It belonged to my dad for when he did undercover work, but then he gave it to me after I was begging for one when I was 10. Also taking out a pocket knife I took for camping, I cut the duct tape off of the box, and opened it, revealing stuffed bears. Wait a minute. Stuffed bears? Why would Falcone bring in stuffed bears? I opened another box, to see what was also inside, but this one was filled with stuffed rabbits. I flimed the shipment adress on them. The rabbits went to the Narrows. But why? What business did they have in the Narrows? Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation in my nose. Uh-Oh. I was gonna sneeze. I tried to stop it, but before I could, it came out. I sneezed loudly from the dust particles that came into the air. And my worse fear came true. I was caught.

"There's someone in there!" shouted a man who came back from his break.

Before I knew it, two men came up into the truck before I could hide, and grabbed me. They dragged me out of the truck as I struggled to get out of their grasp. My camera dropped and broke during the process. Great. Now I didn't have any evidence anymore. I had it right in my hands, and I let it slip. I continued to struggle as much as I could. I could scream, but who would come? This was Gotham, as you know. And Falcone was in charge of the city. I began to regret my decision, as Falcone and Flass (Big surprise) came up to me as I struggled.

"What's a kid doing here?" asked Falcone. He turned to me. "Isn't it past your bedtime, or something? Who are you?"

I didn't want to give him the advantage of me telling him my name. But Flass knew me and my parents so he told him.

"Her name's Chante," he said. "Sarah Chante. Her parents were the detectives investigating last week,"

"Oh," Falcone said. "Those two goons who tried to bring me down?"

I glared at him. My parents weren't goons. He didn't even know them. Falcone took out a gun, and a pair of handcuffs, and threw them to a guy with long hair.

"Take her around back," he said as the two holding me shoved me to the other guy.

"And do what?" the guy asked as he grabbed me.

"...Use your imagination,"

I let out a silent gasp as I tried to free myself from the guy's grasp. They were going to kill me. They were going to kill me. This rang through my head for what seemed like hours. Tears of fright streamed down my face as I came around a warehouse. There was a pipe close, and the guy put one end of the handcuffs on me, and put the other end on the pipe. I was trapped. The man threw the keys as far as possible so I wouldn't try and get to them. He cocked the gun. This was it. This was going to be my untimely death. Why did I go out tonight? Why was I this headstrong person? Why didn't I just go to the police tonight? I closed my eyes, waiting for the doom to come to me. Instead, I heard a noise. It wasn't a gunshot. Just a crash. The gunman looked around forgetting his assignment to kill me. After a few seconds there was another crash, and another, and another. I looked at the gunman. He was sweating, but he kept moving until he turned the corner. I didn't know what was out there, but I took my chance in trying to find something to pick the lock on the handcuffs. Usually people use hairpins to get out of stuff. But I didn't have anything on me. I searched for something I could use, only stopping when I heard more shouts, coming from various men. I grew scared. But then...silence. There was nothing else to hear. Only silence. I would've been glad to accept this wonderful sound, but whatever it was that made those men scream made me want to scream. Franticaly, I searched for something to get me out of the cuffs, and run for my life. My wrist in the cuff was bleeding from yanking my arm too much, trying to get as far away as possible. Suddenly I heard a _woosh_ sound. Stopping what I was doing, I turned my head around slowly to see who was there. There was no one. But what made that sound? My mind was playing tricks with me. I had to get out of there.

"Need some help?" asked a voice.

I stopped what I was doing. That voice. It sounded like a raspy animal's voice. It crawled on my skin. Slowly turning around, I saw a man. But...it wasn't a man. A man would NOT wear something that resembles a bat. But he frightened me. I screamed, and tried to get the cuff off my wrist. My first thought was that he was going to kill me. I mean, how often do you see a guy in a bat suit? Less than zero, that's for sure. The man grabbed me and held me still. I tried to get out of his grasp, but he held me so tight, I couldn't move a muscle. He took something from his belt. A knife. I tried to get out again, but he held me tighter. I took quiet, quick breaths. I thought he was going for my skin, but instead, he went for the keyhole to the cuff. I heard a click, and once my wrist was free, I tried to take off. But the man in the bat suit grabbed me around the waist, and the next thing I knew, I was flying up toward the roof. The man in the bat suit set me down on the ground, and I looked around nervously. I backed into a corner, and I slumped to the ground, hugging my knees to my chest. Every second I was growing scared. I might as well have begged the gunman for death. If he would just shoot me, I would be with my parents right now. I awaited the doom that might happen to me. Instead, I felt my arm raise up, and the end of my long sleeved shirt rip. Slowly looking up, I saw the masked man bandage up my bleeding wrist with the piece of torn cloth. I was puzzled at this. Someone like him would have killed me. Why was he helping me?

"Why did you save me?" I found myself asking.

The man in the bat suit looked at me and just stared at me. This was the first time I've ever spoken since the death of my parents. Although, I never expected to start up again by talking to a man with a mask.

"They were going to kill you," he said in that raspy voice as he stood up.

He walked over to the ledge, and crouched on it, overlooking the city below him. It was strange to see a man like this. I slowly got up, and walked toward him, his back turned to me.

"I...I thought that..." I couldn't say anything.

"...That I was going to kill you," he finished for me.

"...Yes...What did you do to those men? I heard...screaming. I-It scared me,"

"They're taken care of,"

"...What about Falcone?"

The man turned to look at me. I sort of jumped. Even though he saved my life, I still felt a bit scared to look at him. All I could see was his eyes, and part of his face in his black mask. He extended his hand toward me.

"Let me show you," he said.

I looked at the hand as if it was poisonous.

"I'm not going to hurt you. If I wanted to, I would've done it before you could even blink,"

I looked into his eyes. They say you can trust someone by looking into their eyes. And yet, there was a sort of familiarity in them. The skin around his eyes were covered in black dark as night. Then again, I suppose I could trust him. Cautiously, I entwined my fingers around his hand. He gripped it firmly, but gently, as he led me up to the ledge. Putting a hand on my back so he would know whether or not I would fall, he showed me a sight that I would never forget. There was Falcone tied to a giant light by chains. His suit was torn in pieces, its rags hanging from his arms. The light was on, and shown toward the sky. Looking up at the dark clouded sky, I saw the shape it made. I had to squint just a little to see what it looked like, but an image suddenly appeared in my head. It was a bat. At this thought I looked at the man. He definetly looked like a bat what with the cape and all.

"Why did you do that to him?" I asked as I stepped down

"It's a sign to know I'm here," he replied in that raspy voice.

"For what?"

"...To bring Gotham back,"

I shook my head.

"Sorry but..." I said softly. "You're a little bit late to save the day,"

"Is that why you were out here?" he asked me. "To play hero?"

"No...I came here to finish what my parents died investigating on,"

"What were you parents investigating on?"

I was a bit silent at this, though I wanted to talk. You know how you don't talk for a long time, and when you finally do, you kind of lose the habit of being silent? This was one of those times. But I didn't want to say anything to him. This isn't the kind of information you give to a guy like him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"...Sarah. Sarah Chante," I replied softly.

"...Chante. I've heard of that name. Parents Luke and Jennifer, right?"

I snapped a look at him. How did he know my parents? How did he know their names?

"Yes," I said softly as he walked slowly toward me. "How did you know that?"

"...Word gets around fast," he replied dryly.

I stared at him. This guy was unbelievable. First he beats up all of Falcone's thugs, and Falcone, then he takes me up to the roof and shows me his little bat symbol, and now he's telling me about my parents.

"Who are you?" I asked in a breath.

"...Someone like you,"

"That's not a good answer for me. Someone like me should be scared right now,"

"Scared?"

"Yeah. I mean...WELL LOOK AT YOU! You-you-you-you you're flying off rooftops, and saving kids who aren't worth saving, and you're showing me all these things that's gonna take me a long time to forget, and you're wearing a mask! And this gives me every reason to be scared right now, because I'm not that brave. But I am brave enough to admit it, and I'm not afraid to show that I'm afraid!"

I ended up taking big breaths. Never a time in my life had I been so scared to just burst out things. I thought someone might've heard me, but I didn't care. The man in the mask just stared at me.

"If you'll excuse me," I said. "I have to get home,"

"I'll take you," he replied when I started to go down the escape ladder.

"Thanks, but, I've made it this far without an escort, and you don't know where I live,"

"...I know where everything is,"

I looked at him puzzled as he came toward me, his hand extended like before. Shaking my head, I took it. It would get me faster to Wayne Manor, and hopefully Bruce and Alfred didn't wake up to find me missing. We stood on the ledge, overlooking the city.

"Tell me we're not going to jump off the roof," I said after I looked down from the great height.

"No," he said wrapping something around my waist. "We're going across the rooftops,"

"What are you doing?"

"This will keep you from falling, but you have to hang on to me,"

This was insane. Man couldn't fly. No one could defy the laws of gravity. It was impossible. Nobody could fly, except when they're in airplanes. He crouched down getting ready to take off. Quickly, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and we were falling to the ground. I let out a short scream, as I felt the air rush past me, but then...I felt a sort of gliding feeling as I heard a woosh sound. Looking up, I saw that we were flying. We were actually flying. This wasn't real. This had to be a dream. But here I was looking down on all the city. It felt wonderful. It felt like I was...free. It was a wonderful feeling to be free. You're locked up someplace, and when you get out, you cherish a moment as if you never want to let go. Finally the man flew over Wayne Manor, and we landed in front of the garage. He set me down on the ground, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" I called back.

He turned around, wondering what I was going to say.

"Not even a goodbye?" I asked. "That's kind of rude you know,"

"...Just be careful next time," he just said to me.

"...One more thing...Who are you, exactly?"

The man was silent, but there was a gleam in his eyes.

"I'm Batman," he said.

(A/N: Whoa. This was long. But I finally got this chapter done. Review please!)


	7. Opinion's Mattered

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I had barely slept after I was back in my room. Safe and sound from the dangers of Gotham. But what I really couldn't believe was that someone saved me. I couldn't believe it. Someone saved someone like me. Usually when people look at me, they give me a weird look, because they know I won't say anything. But this couldn't be real. I mean, come on. You'd be debating whether or not a guy in a bat suit came and saved your life too. And what was weird is that I actually spoke to him. And he spoke to me as if he had plenty of time. It was strange to be talking again, but then it felt wonderful. I looked at my clock after I had woken up and thought these things, and saw that it was almost time to get ready for school. Remembering I had to go back today, I quickly brushed my hair into a ponytail, got on my green and black uniform, and stuffed my backpack with my books. My wrist was almost healed, and nobody would notice it because it didn't bleed that much last night. Hearing the bus pull over outside the mansion as I ran down the steps, I ran faster and sped past Alfred who was carrying a tray of tea.

"Have a wonderful day Miss Sarah," he called as I opened the door.

"Bye Alfred!" I shouted a call back to him as I closed the door.

What I didn't hear as I raced to the bus, though, was the sound of silver clattering on the floor.

* * *

When I finally arrived at school, it seemed that I wasn't the only one who knew about Batman. Instead of talking about cell phones, and prada bags, and video games, Batman was the discussion of the students. I kept hearing people say that you can't take the law into your own hands, but others saying that he sounded kind of cool. I had to admit, he was cool. Teachers had newspapers in their hands with Falcone's picture of him being strung up to the light I saw last night. As I walked into my English class, I didn't hear the discussion of the strange Batman. I heard a bit of an argument.

"Ally," said a blonde haired girl. "I can't believe you would do something to your hair like this!"

I looked at a group of blonde haired girls, ganging up on a brunette haired girl, whom I recognized as the Farris girl. Ally Farris. Nathan Farris's sister. Last time I saw her, she had blonde hair. Now it looked like she dyed it. And obviously her friends weren't liking it.

"It's so boring!" said another girl. "I mean, come on, at least with blonde you get a lot of guys to notice you,"

"But..." Ally said softly. "I like this color hair. Besides, brown is my natural hair color. My aunt just wanted my hair to be blonde for a play that I was doing in the 1st grade, and it sort of grew on me,"

"Please," the first blonde haired girl said. "Nobody likes this hair color,"

"Well I think it rocks!" I found myself exclaiming.

The girls stopped talking, and looked at me with open mouths. Ally Farris just stared at me as if I had done the inevitable. Obviously I had. But the fear of being taunted again rose up in me so I covered it up.

"Uh..." I stammered. "It's because that...blonde hair...it's so...yesterday?"

The blonde haired girls looked at each other and back at me.

"My gosh," said one. "She's right. Since when was the last time we looked at fashion magazines?"

"2 hours ago?" asked another.

"Wow. A lot has changed in the world of fashion. Thanks Mute Girl,"

So the blonde haired girls took up their seats, discussing when to meet to get their heair dyed brunette. Ally Farris continued to stare at me. I just smiled.

"You're welcome," I said laughing a bit.

"Wow," she said coming over to me. "That took a lot of guts,"

"No...It just took a lot of brain,"

Ally laughed at my joke.

"I'm Ally Farris," she said sitting down by me.

"I know," I said smiling for what seemed like a long time. "I'm Sarah Chante,"

"I know. I read about you in an article in the Gotham Tribune,"

I blinked at this remark.

"I was in an article?" I asked.

"Yeah," Ally said. "But it was just a short one. All it said was that after coming back, Bruce Wayne gained custody over you. They say that in addition to your inheritance, you get his money when he leaves,"

"Oh...So it was just about me getting money?"

"Pretty much...So, what's it like anyway? Living with the Prince of Gotham?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"It feels...nice," I said softly.

"How nice?" Ally inquired.

"...He knows how I feel,"

* * *

**READER'S POV:**

That afternoon, Bruce woke up to the window's being drawn open in his room by Alfred. Tiredly, he pulled the covers over his head.

"Bat's are nocturnal," he groaned.

"Bat's may be," Alfred said as he set down a tray of food. "But even for billionaire playboys, 3:00 is pushing it. A price for leading the double life I fear,"

Bruce stil kept the covers over his head in attempt to go back to sleep. After the first night as Batman, he was in no mood to get up, and show his face to the world just yet.

"Your theatrics made an impression," Alfred held a newspaper to his face.

This caught Bruce's attention as he grabbed the paper to get a better look. Realizing there were several articles in there about him...or should I say Batman...he immedietly sat up, throwing the covers off of him.

"Theatricality and deception," he started. "Are powerful weapons, Alfred. This is a good start,"

Alfred had to oppose to that. On Bruce's arm was a bruise the size of a grapefruit. He pointed at it.

"If those," he said. "Are to be the first of many injuries to come, it would be wise to find a suitable excuse. Polo, for instance,"

Bruce made a face as he looked up from the paper.

"I'm not learning polo, Alfred," he said.

"Strange injuries, a nonexsistent social life," Alfred explained. "These things beg the question of what exactly does Bruce Wayne do with his time and money,"

"What does someone like me do?" Bruce asked as he stood up.

"Well, drive sports cars. Date movie stars..." Bruce dropped to the ground and started doing push ups. "Buy things that are not for sale. Who knows Master Wayne, you start pretending to have fun...you might even have a little by accident,"

Bruce continued doing push-ups, as Alfred looked at the clock.

"Miss Sarah should be getting home any minute," he said putting the dishes back on the silver tray. "...You know, just this morning, I thought someone else was in the house, but then I realized it was just Sarah Chante saying goodbye to me on her way to the bus,"

Bruce stopped in mid-push, and slowly got up, looking at Alfred. Alfred had a concerned look on his face. Bruce sighed.

"She was at the docks last night," he said.

Alfred shook his head.

"Somehow," he said picking up the tray. "I knew that the torn shirt of hers had something to do with this,"

"They had her handcuffed to a pipe, Alfred," Bruce explained. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Exactly what you did, Master Wayne. But if that girl is anything like Jennifer, she'll want to see Batman again,"

Bruce stopped for a moment. Growing up, Jennifer always knew what to do to get what she wanted, for the right reasons of course. And Bruce never knew what she was up to.

"Don't worry," he said putting on his robe. "I'm going to talk to her about it,"

"About you being Batman, sir?" Alfred inquired.

"Not just yet,"

"Master Wayne..."

"I know she's going to be living here until Judge Faden makes a decision about her gaurdianship, but I want her to be safe first. When the time is right, I'll tell her,"

* * *

**SARAH'S POV:**

That afternoon, I had never felt so happy in my entire life. Ally Farris and I spent all day talking to each other when we could, and we spent recess talking about our favorite books and other things. She recomended a book to me called "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl. It was a book that I had wanted to read for a little while, and Ally said that she'd bring it over tomorrow morning to Wayne Manor. When I got home, I never forgot the looks on Alfred and Bruce's face. Alfred was really keen to start a conversation with me. Of course, I talked to him about stuff like trying to fix up the garden, and how we can get the Manor ready for Bruce's 30th birthday celebration. It was said to be the biggest party of the year. As big as the Christmas parties. Although Bruce was quiet since I got home. He seemed tired and physically hurt. Because he kept holding his arm sometimes when he walked. But I didn't ask him anything about it. That night as I lay in my bed, I finished reading yet another book. I really wasn't that tired, but I was kind of hungry. So, putting on my slippers, I walked out of my room to go to the kitchen. Turning on the light though, I jumped a bit. Bruce was sitting at the counter in his robe and pajamas, drinking some hot coco from a mug. He looked up to find me.

"Hey," he said softly. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," I said mildly.

"Me too...Want some coco?"

"Sure,"

Bruce got up from his seat, and turned on the tea kettle to heat up some water as I sat down. He sat back down as we waited for the water to heat up. He took the reigns of talking first.

"So," he said. "You've finally decided to talk,"

"...Yeah..." I said in my quiet voice.

"What made you get out of the silence?"

I shrugged. The real reason why is because I wanted to know why Batman saved me. But if I told Bruce about Batman, I'd be in trouble. Plus, if I did, then Judge Faden would give my Uncle Edgar permission to have custody over me. So, I lied.

"I just realized," I started. "That it was time to stop being scared of everything,"

Bruce nodded to that.

"I can understand that," he said. "...You know, you sound just like your mother,"

"...I do?"

"Yeah. She was quiet in her own way too, but she was always fun to be around with. She was the kindest, bravest person I ever knew,"

I looked down a bit.

"I wish I could be brave," I said. "I'm practically scared of my own shadow,"

Bruce smiled.

"The brave ones usually are," he said. "...You making new friends?"

I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "A sister and brother named Ally and Nathan Farris,"

"I know the Farris'," Bruce said. "They're a really good family. Ally's the same age as you are, right? Twelve?"

"Right...She's coming by tomorrow to give me a book,"

"What's it called?"

"_'James and the Giant Peach'_ by Roald Dahl," I said.

Bruce was a bit quiet at that.

"I like that movie," he said.

I knitted my eyebrows togethor. It was a movie?

"But it's a book," I said.

"I didn't know it was a book," Bruce smiled.

"I didn't know it was a movie,"

Bruce just smiled as he poured my hot coco into a mug. He looked at me with that same look I always got from him. Amused, interested, and inquiring what I was thinking. He gave it to me, and I sipped it slowly, so I wouldn't burn my tongue.

"We have it I think," Bruce said. "If you want to watch it, you can,"

"OK," I said.

"...You want to watch it now?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"But it's past my bedtime," I protested softly. "I shouldn't even be up,"

"It's OK," Bruce said as I got up to leave. "It's Friday night, and you can sleep in as much as you want tomorrow morning. Come on,"

Figuring there was no harm into watching a movie, I just shrugged, and followed Bruce into the living room. He turned on a lamp by the couch, and I sat down in the middle of it, wrapping myself in a warm blanket, and putting my hot coco on the coffee table. After he popped in the DVD after about 5 minutes of searching for it, he sat down beside me as we watched it. It started out with a boy living with his parents by the sea. I figured it would be James. He looked so happy to be with his parents. It brought memories of my parents and me. But then he got sent to live with his horrible aunts named Aunt Spiker and Sponge. They called him names, sent him to do the chores they wouldn't do, while they lounged around. As the movie went on, I couldn't help but show my look of disgust. I know realized that even people who don't have that much can be selfish too. They could want the things others have. They could be vain. Bruce didn't seem to notice anything else but the TV, but one part squeezed my heart tightly, I thought I couldn't breathe. In the movie, James had a travel book his father gave to him. His aunts found it, and they began to criticize him. They said bad stuff about his parents. They said they were foolish people always dreaming, weren't looking where they were going when they were killed. This brought to my attention the things that happened in my life. My relatives criticized my parents all the time. And they loved to call me names as well, just to see me break down into little pieces. And they take away things that I held dear. Such as my locket. Now I felt invisible without it. I should've asked someone to fix it for me. But I was under the impression that it would never be fixed. I would never be fixed. No one can just put the pieces back togethor. Silently, I cried a bit. I didn't want Bruce to notice, but I was sitting so close to him, he felt my body shake. He paused the movie real quick, and looked at me.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"...They were right about me..." I said through tears.

"Who?"

"My relatives. They were right. They were right all along," I sobbed. "My parents were silly dreamers not looking where they were going. They were dreamers because of me. And if it wasn't for me, they'd still be alive...I _am_ the Scum of the Narrows,"

Bruce shook his head, and held me against him tightly. I cried into his chest as he rocked me back and forth.

"It was nothing that you did," he said into my ear.

I continued to sob for my parents as I felt my body grow tired. I covered myself with the blanket more, and I grew more sleepy. I fell asleep in Bruce's arms crying that night...and dreaming of a silhouette of a man dressed in a bat suit standing out the window.


	8. Wishful Thinking

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

The morning after, I was sitting in the passenger seat looking out on the streets of Gotham, as they rushed passed me out the window. Bruce thought it would be a good idea to show me the sights of Gotham since all I knew in my life were the streets of the Narrows. In truth, I thought it was a good idea. At least it would get me out of the house this weekend. But first, he said, we had to stop by Wayne Enterprises to check up on some things. Alfred was given the day off, which he totally deserved. So it was just me and Bruce today. We pulled up in front of the building, and I looked up at it in awe as I stepped out of the car.

"This is where you work?" I asked craning my head to see the very top.

"Yeah," Bruce said as he stood with me.

"It's really..."

"Big?"

"Unh-uh,"

Bruce just laughed a bit as we walked inside. He told me to stay close to him since the place was like a labrynth. But I couldn't help but look around. The place was huge! Everywhere I looked people were walking out of rooms with cell phones, stacks of paper, people following superiors, and too busy to talk to the other co-workers.

"So," I said as we waited for the elevator to open. "What exactly do you do around here?"

"Well," Bruce started. "What I do around here is I work with a man named Lucius Fox. He's the head of the Department of Applied Sciences,"

"But..."I was confused. "Don't you work in a big office or something? Aren't you the head of Wayne Enterprises?"

"That's kind of complicated," Bruce explained as we walked in the elevator. "See, what happened was when I came back, the company was already being watched by one of my father's old friends, Mr. Earle. So he's the head honcho now,"

"Can't you tell him that now you're back that you can take over the company now? It is technically yours,"

Bruce winced at that.

"I didn't want to interfere in anything," he said to me.

I was confused by this.If Bruce was the owner of the company, why was he working in the basement? Everytime I heard him mention work, I always pictured him in a big office at the top floor with a big view. But then again, if he's the owner, he could probably have any job he could want. When the elevator doors opened, it revealed a large place. It might've been the basement that Bruce worked in with this Mr. Fox. It had a bunch of huge stuff that probably even the garage at Wayne Manor wouldn't fit it all. But still, my eyes were wide with amazement.

"Wow," I said softly.

Bruce smiled at me as he walked with me showing me around. He didn't show me anything specific, but it was really cool. It felt like being in a new world, and discovering new things. It felt like being in a book that no one, not even the author has read. But somehow the author wrote it, from his mind, and his heart.

"I never knew you made a lot of stuff," I said as he finished giving me the tour.

"Yeah," Bruce sighed. "Neither did I until a couple of days ago...One day, you'll take over the company,"

I stopped looking around, and stared at Bruce. He was smiling at me. I didn't know what to say. Me? In charge of the biggest company Gotham has seen? Me sitting in the center of Gotham, having people do my bidding. I didn't if I could handle it.

"But..."I stammered. "...I don't...What do I know about running a business? I could barely run a lemonade stand in the Narrows when I was 8,"

"Don't worry," Bruce laughed. "I'm pretty sure you're not going to take over it until a few years after you graduate from college,"

I sighed with relief as he gave me half a hug. For a minute there...well you get the idea. Suddenly, an middle aged man walked in with a clipboard. He seemed to find us there and smiled.

"Mr. Wayne," he said walking toward us.

"Hello Fox," Bruce smiled. "Sarah, this is Lucius Fox. He works with me in this department,"

"Pleased to meet you," I shook Mr. Fox's hand.

Fox smiled at me.

"You were right Mr Wayne," he said. "She is a delightful child. Is there anything I can do for you sir?"

"Uh..." Bruce started. "No. I was just showing Sarah around the building,"

"Well, if you need anything sir, don't hesitate to ask,"

* * *

It seemed that Fox was busy, so he left in a hurry to go to the other side of the room. I immedietly liked him. He reminded me of an uncle that I would always want, but never could get. Speaking of uncles, mine will be just coming into this story in just a little bit. But I won't give you any details just yet. See what happened was, after Bruce showed me the rest of Wayne Enterprises, he decided it would be a good idea to go to the zoo. We were just walking up the gate when I had seen my new friends Ally and Nathan Farris, just exiting Gotham City Zoo. Ally smiled and came running up to me.

"Sarah!" she exclaimed with happiness. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Hi Ally," I smiled.

When Nathan heard me talk, he let out a sudden gasp.

"You learned how to talk!" he exclaimed. "Wow!"

Ally gave a look at her little brother. It wasn't his fault he didn't know that I could talk. He just thought I was mute from the names Ally's other friends called me at school.

"Of course she knew how to talk!" Ally replied. "She just didn't want to. That's all. Oh! Sarah, I almost forgot,"

Ally dug into her prada bag she told me she had gotten for her tenth birthday, and took out "_James and the Giant Peach_". She handed it to me with a smile. I just looked at it with a little one.

"I forgot to come by your manor and give it to you this morning," she explained. "Must be luck that I ran into you,"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Must be,"

"I gotta go. Mom and Dad want me to come back for my dress fitting,"

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Dress fitting?" I asked. "Are you going to a party?"

"Yeah," Ally replied. "Bruce's birthday party,"

"That's right," Bruce remembered. "I recall inviting you and your parents," He gave me a smile. "You didn't think you were going to be the only little girl there, did you?"

I winced.

"To be honest, yes," I replied softly. "I wasn't making any friends when you sent out the invitations,"

"Well you have friends now," Bruce said. "Two of them,"

"And aren't we just the best?" Nathan gave off a proud smile.

I giggled a bit as Ally rolled her eyes. I guess she didn't like having Nathan around her that much. Maybe she thought he embarassed her in public. Nevertheless, I liked him just as much as Ally. Ally and Nathan waved goodbye to me and Bruce, and we set off into the zoo. I never been to one before. I had always imagined what it would be like. To see animals from far off jungles in distant lands. And yet, it made me sad to see these animals incarcerated in these cages, when they should be free. Nevertheless, the zookeepers took care of them, and tried their best to make them feel as though they were really in the jungle. As we neared the lions cage, I kind of developed a craving for a hot dog.

"Can I get something to eat?" I asked Bruce.

"Sure," Bruce dug into his pocket, and gave me a crisp ten dollar bill. "Meet me back here,"

"OK,"

I hurried off to one of the stands that was close to where Bruce was, but out of his sight. I didn't seem to notice that as I took in the smells of food. I hadn't eaten any breakfast, so I was really hungry. Although, I didn't seem to notice someone behind me.

"Look who's out in the open," I heard a chilling voice.

I whipped my head around to find Josh Mason, my cousin, with a smug grin on his face. It seemed as though his father had gotten him out of juvenile hall. No doubt Judge Faden will drop the charges for the amount of money my uncle would give him.

"What are you doing here?" Josh asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," I said softly as I turned my back against him.

"...Whoa-ho-ho. Look who's talking again. What happened? Did someone feel sorry for you and got you to talk?"

"That wouldn't be any of your business," I said to him as I came up to the stand. "Two hot dogs please,"

"That's why Bruce Wayne took you in," Josh continued. "He only took you in because he felt sorry for you, and it would give him a good image,"

"You don't know him," I said.

"And you do? Please. He doesn't care about you. No one ever did. He just took you in because the world can't stand to look at you. I bet if you were in trouble, someone would walk past you and leave you for dead,"

My whole body trembled with anger, but I didn't want to show it. I gave the hot dog vendor a kind smile, and went off to go back to Bruce. The sooner I would get to Bruce, the sooner I can ask to go home, and be safe and sound. Away from the animals in which cages wouldn't hold them. But Josh seemed to want to aggravate me more, and followed me.

"Hey!" he grabbed my arm, and turned me around. "Aren't you even listening?"

I guess he had pulled on me so quick, that I accidently pushed him into a fountain that sat in the middle of the zoo. Water splashed everywhere, and I sheild myself to not get wet. Josh however wasn't so lucky. He came out from under the shallow water, all wet. I put my food on the bench beside me, and extended a hand. He may be cruel to me, but that gave me no reason to be cruel to him.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "It was an accident. Here. Let me help you,"

"No," Josh grabbed my hand. "Let me help _you_,"

The next thing I knew, I fell into the water with a yelp, and water splashed everywhere again. This time, I was all wet too. And before I was able to compose myself, everyone, including Bruce, was coming up to the fountain. Bruce helped me out of the fountain and draped his coat over my shoulders.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just fell in,"

"Well Mr. Wayne," I had now noticed my Uncle Edgar came into my view. "It seems you are doing a very good job with raising the Scum of the Narrows,"

I didn't say anything to him, but Bruce might've had an angry look on his face for calling me that name.

"Why do you keep calling her that?" he asked. "She's the same as you and me,"

"The same?" repeated Edgar. "She's not rich, she never grew up in Gotham, she's a pauper. Not a princess! I warned you about her hostile behavior,"

"The only thing that's hostile is the way you treat your niece and raise your son to hate her,"

"You may think she's the same as everyone else, Mr. Wayne, but she never was. She'll** never** be one of us. She's not saying anything back to me because she knows it's true, and there's nothing she can do about it,"

I covered my ears through all this nonsense. I broke free out of Bruce's grasp and ran through the crowd. I needed somewhere safe to be. Away from prying eyes. There was a tunnel that led to a cave in the zoo that held nocturnal animals. I didn't know that as I raced in the dark. But as I soon got halfway through the tunnel, I realized I had forgotten I was afraid of the dark. Closing my eyes, which was the only darkness I would welcome, I followed the stair rail until I came to a room that had a little bit of light. I opened my eyes, welcoming it. But then I realized I was in a cave where the bats were kept. Bats. Up until now, I had forgotten about the Batman. And yet, the bats entranced me once again. There was no one in the room, so I was all alone. That was good for me. I didn't want anyone to come to me right now. Sitting in the middle on the concrete floor, I covered myself in Bruce's coat, and just looked at the bats in front of me. I had gone into my own little world again. I then thought about Batman. Who was he? Why did he wear a mask? Why did he only come out at night? How did he know my parents? How can he fly when men had tried for centuries to do it, and only came with the solution of breaking their limbs or dying? Why was he so good to me, and yet very distant? Was he just like me like he said? I didn't understand. Nevertheless, I blocked all feeling, sights and sounds from my head, except for my wet clothes sticking to my skin, the view of flying bats and the faint fluttering of their wings. Suddenly, I was broken out of my thoughts by something draped over my shoulders. Letting out a shuddered gasp, I looked up to find Bruce bending down beside me, putting a wool blanket over my shoulders.

"The staff gave me this," he said. "They wouldn't want you to catch a cold,"

I nodded sighing, wrapping the blanket around me.

"Why do you let him talk to you like that?" Bruce asked me.

I guessed he was inquiring me about my Uncle Edgar. I sighed.

"I have no idea," I said. "I guess...when I was seven, my relatives were having a Chistmas party, and they invited me and my parents. The only reason they wanted us there was so they could criticize us. I don't remember a lot about it, other than that. 5 minutes after we came, we left. Then on the way home, my parents were talking. They thought I was sleeping in the back seat of the car, but I remembered what they said. They said that Uncle Edgar started calling me the Scum of the Narrows, because I was the lowest the Narrows would ever get. Then my dad carried me to my bed, and my mom kissed me goodnight saying that someday I would be the Princess...But I guess that was just wishful thinking for her,"

"...No," Bruce said to me. "It wasn't wishful thinking,"

I looked at him with a strange look.

"Growing up, Jennifer had a lot of hunches," he smiled a bit. "Before you were born, I was in college, and your mother was pregnant with you. We started debating whether or not it was going to be a girl or a boy over the phone. A few hours after you were born, your father called, and told me it was a girl and to cough it up,"

I smiled. That sounded just like my dad making jokes.

"What I'm saying here Sarah is, you're already the Princess. The Princess of Gotham,"

My eyes were wide when he said this. How could I be a princess? I can't go anywhere without tripping or making any sound with my feet. But if Bruce said I was the princess...then maybe I was.

* * *

**READER'S POV:**

After a long day of having fun, minus the part of getting pulled into the fountain and the encounter with Edgar, Sarah was asleep in her bed, a book in her hand, when Bruce checked on her. With a light smile, he took the book gently from her hands, and covered her up with the blankets even more. It was going to storm tonight, and he had a lot of stuff to get to before long. Meaning, going out to Gotham at night with a mask in a cape. Before he turned to leave, he heard the bed shuffle a bit, and turned around to find Sarah with sleepy eyes.

"Bruce," she said in a tired voice.

"Yeah?" Bruce asked back softly.

"...You can turn off the light,"

Bruce was a little bit confused.

"I thought you were afraid of the dark," he said.

"...I'm not anymore," Sarah closed her eyes sleeping.

All Bruce could do was smile, as he turned off the nightstand light, and closed the door. Sighing, he walked down the hall, downstairs, and into the parlor. Playing a few notes on the piano that was there, a door opened. A secret door. Hidden in the shelves of a bookcase that was there in front of him. Going into it quickly before it would close again, he walked down the drafty steps and to an elevator that would release with a pull of a lever. Making sure the doors were closed tightly, he pulled it, and the air rushed past him like wind. When he finally landed, he was in the caverns he and Alfred worked hard to fix up without Sarah's knowledge. This was the Batcave, the cave which he worked secretly to become the Dark Knight of Gotham. Batman. Walking along the cavern, he sat down at a steel table with a few things. A fixed up camera, and something that glinted of gold. Bruce took the gold object in his hands and studied it. It was Sarah's broken golden heart-shaped locket. He had found it the morning he had forbidden her to go to the well again. When he was making steel batarangs, he found it lying in the cold damp ground. It had fallen through the well...or someone dropped it in Bruce's opinion. He had fixed the hinges and it was now opening and closing again, revealing the pictures of Luke and Jennifer. He had also repaired her camera as well, in order to find out what she had filmed in the truck that was at the docks. But it was all jumbled and dark.

"I think it's time for Batman to pay a visit to Sarah Chante," he said softly.

(A/N: Hey. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My goal is to get this done before Christmas, so keep looking back. Review please!)


	9. Desire To Be Strong Again

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

The wind rustled outside my window loudly, when I woke up. It was the middle of the night, when I looked at my clock. Nearly 11:30. Usually, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I believe there is a reason. But what was it? I finally decided that it was nothing, and tried to go back to sleep. But then, something tapped against my window. My head shot up to see what it was, but it was nothing. Nothing was there. Again, I tried to sleep, but the tap sounded again, and my instincts started to grow sharp. Furrowing my eyebrows, I put on my slip on shoes, and grabbed a jacket. My window had a balcony outside, so I climbed out of it with careful footwork. It was pretty windy outside, so I bundled up. What was I doing out here? I shouldn't be out here. Remember last time? But as I turned back to go to bed, I saw my father's camera in front of my face. Dazed a little bit, I took it in my hands. It wasn't there when I walked out, and the last time I saw it, it was broken. How did it get here? My answer came. As I looked around to see if anybody was there, I caught a glimpse of a flapping piece of black cloth. Putting the camera around my neck, I sort of climbed bravely on the balcony, and climbed up to the roof. When I finally got up there, I saw Batman standing by the ledge looking down on the ground. Slowly, I walked toward him. Questions filled my head. He actually remembered me? Why was he staying here? As I neared two feet from him, he spoke.

"Don't move," he said in that raspy voice.

I gasped a little, but I kept still as a statue. He turned around, and I could see his face again. This time, I was not afraid of him. He didn't have that look in his eye. He circled me, though, like a wolf trapping it's prey. And yet, I didn't feel like the prey this time.

"At the docks," he started. "...Who did you see?"

"...Um..." I said in a nervous voice. "...Falcone and Flass,"

"What did they do?"

"...The only time I saw them was when Falcone ordered his men to kill me, and Flass telling him my name...Then you came along...Why?"

Batman didn't answer. Instead, he asked another question.

"Do you remember anything you filmed in the truck you were in?" he asked.

I snapped a look at him.

"You saw my camera?" I asked. "Why?"

"You had a reason for being out there , and I wanted to know why," Batman simply said.

"But that's invasion of privacy! And you know why I went out there. My parents died investigating something about Falcone. I just wanted to finish the job without getting hurt. That's all. I swear!"

Batman looked at me with that same look. I was growing scared again. Was I in trouble or something? I didn't want to be. I didn't know what I did wrong, if I did anything of the sort. He moved to put a hand on my shoulder, but I was brave enough to take a step back. Even though I should be thanking him, I was still a little bit nervous to be around him. He was wearing a mask...Need I say more?

"I know you didn't do anything wrong," he said to me. "...But I need to know where the rabbits went to,"

"The rabbits?" I asked. "...Why?"

"I don't know yet. That is why I came to you,"

"...I don't remember. After that night, things started to go a bit jumbled,"

The Batman just stared at me. After a few seconds he moved to jump off the roof, but something told me to stop him.

"Wait," I said.

He stopped, and turned to look at me. I figured since he helped me, I could give him something that may lead to a clue.

"Try and find Flass," I requested. "Since he was at the docks, I'm guessing he'll probably know where these...rabbits went to,"

There was silence between us again, until he stepped off the ledge, and back onto the roof. He walked toward me slowly. I took a few steps back in a little bit a fright. He stopped and looked at me puzzled.

"You're afraid," he said. ",,,Why?"

I sighed.

"Look," I said calmly. "I appreciate you helping me out the other night. Thank you. Most people wouldn't have done it,"

"What makes you say that?"

I shrugged and walked around the roof, looking out into the cool night air.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I guess it's because I've been taunted and teased for so long, it brought down my self-esteem,"

"Classmates?"

I shook my head slowly.

"Worse," I turned to look at him. "Members of my family. They call me the Scum of the Narrows,"

"...Funny," he said. "You don't seem like the type of person who likes to cause trouble. Why do they call you the Scum of the Narrows?"

"...I have no idea...It's stupid. I mean, why should they have to call me names? They have everything, so why do they have to worry about me?"

"What about your parents?"

I was silent at that. I just moved to the ledge to go back down. I should've just stayed in bed. He forgot that my parents were dead. But he seemed to want to know. He moved after me, so I stopped dead in my tracks. If I kept going, I might've angered him by not giving him an answer straightaway. I didn't look at anything, but the city that laid out in front of me. I felt his hand on my shoulder. I shuddered a bit, and took a few breaths.

"I'm sorry," he said to me. "...How did they die?"

"...They were shot in the head in an alley by Arkham Asylum," I said softly. "That was the only detail the police would give me, other than they went over there on assignment...Why?"

"I wanted to..."

"No, why would someone want to kill my parents?"

This time, I was brave enough to look at him straight in the eyes...and yet...Wait. His eyes...they looked familiar. Where have I seen them before? My thoughts were interuppted by his answer.

"Sometimes people commit murderer's for no reason," he said. "For pleasure. Thrill...The rush that goes through their heads..."

"You act like you've done it," I said to him.

"...I would never do anything to hurt anyone,"

"So you're saying I should just leave the death of my parents a mystery?"

Batman looked at me with that look again. That look. Amusement in his eyes...It frightened me so much, I started to wonder where I had seen that look before.

"I'm saying you should leave the death of your parents to me," he said.

My eyes widened at this comment. Did...Did he just say he was going to investigate my parents deaths? Wait, was there a catch?...Never mind. I didn't care.

"Thank you," I said. "I don't know if I can repay..."

"You don't have to pay me anything," Batman interuppted. "Just do two favors for me,"

"Anything,"

"...After tonight, I never want you out here again unsupervised. Don't come looking for me. I come to you. Understand?"

I nodded. He said that in a very strict manner. Like he knew it wasn't the first time I snuck out.

"What's the other favor?"

* * *

You'll never guess where I was 10 minutes later. And just so you won't guess, I'll tell you. In the middle of the pouring rain, standing in an alley. Tired and cold and scared nonetheless. Batman brought me along. He said it was "bait to get Flass where he wanted him". Why would he need me to get Flass? More importantly, if he said he would never do anything to hurt me, why was he putting me in danger of Falcone's lackey?...You know what, that guy's too mysterious. Maybe I should just go. Putting the top collar of my coat over my head, I started to move, but I heard a voice.

"You!" it said.

I looked up to find Flass coming straight at me, as fast as his legs could carry him, dropping the Falalfel he had in his hand. Looks like my presence ruined his walk and his midnight snack. He thought they killed me that night. Maybe now since he found out I was still alive, he was going to finish the job. But another amazing thing happened. Before he could lay a finger on me, he was going up in the air, hanging upside down by his ankles. He stopped at the top floor of the fire escape that I stood next too, and I heard Batman's voice, loud and menacing.

"WHERE ARE THE OTHER DRUGS GOING?" he yelled at Flass.

Flass stuttered as I was heading my way up the wet fire escape, slipping as I went.

"I--I never knew," he stuttered. "I don't know. I swear to--"

"SWEAR TO _**ME**_!" Batman yelled.

Batman totured Flass by dropping him, almost all the way to the ground, and pulling him back up, like a yo-yo.

"I don't--I never knew," Flass pleaded. "Never. They-they went to some guy for a couple of days before they went to the dealers,"

"WHY?" Batman yelled again.

"...There was something--something else in the drugs. Something hidden,"

"WHAT?"

"I never went to the drop off point. It was in the Narrows. Cops only go there when they're in force,"

"DO I LOOK LIKE A COP?"

"No--"

"Wait!" I shouted.

I was now where Batman was on the fire escape. Something had snapped inside of me. Greed...anxiety...determination. Things I never felt before. I never noticed them inside me as I made Flass looked at me.

"What do you know about my parents deaths?" I asked him over the rain.

I could feel Batman's gaze on me. I just looked at Flass. He seemed scared by this sudden outburst made by me. I guess I was too after I went over the events. But I had it in my head that Flass knew something about my parents deaths.

"I--I don't know..." Flass stuttered

"No!" I found myself saying. "Don't say you don't know. I know you do. Don't lie! Tell me now!"

"Sarah, let's go--" Batman tried to pull me away.

"Tell me now!"

I wouldn't listen to Batman. This wasn't me, I know. I was becoming more determined by the minute. I wanted to know about my parents. I had to know. I have to. I've got to. I went for so long not knowing how it started, and I wouldn't wait a second more. Flass told me through stutters.

"Last week," he stuttered."A-a man called me. Told-told me to give your parents information about the Narrows. That something was there they would like to see,"

My eyes were wide. Someone wanted my parents dead. It wasn't for pleasure. It was for business. Or revenge. Or whatever. But I wanted more information. I kept questioning Flass, as Batman tried to pull me away even more. My arm hurt from his grip, but I had wrapped my ankle around the railing. I wasn't going anywhere.

"Who called you?" I asked.

"I don't know," Flass said, sweat coming off his forehead. "Really. I don't. We tried tracing the phone call back, but the phone number didn't exist,"

"You know something! Tell me!"

But the next thing I knew, Flass was going back down, screaming his head off, and I was carried up to the roof at lightning speed, struggling. Batman wouldn't let me go. His grip was growing tighter. I yelled at him over the rain.

"Let me go!" I screamed at him.

"Not until you calm down," Batman hissed in my ear.

"No! I won't! Not until I find out who killed my mom and dad,"

I know what you're thinking. I'm acting like a spoiled child now. I needed to find out who the murderer was. I couldn't wait any longer. But I've become so rotten over the past few minutes, I had forgotten who I was. Taking deep breaths, I slumped to the ground in realization of what had happened. Did I just yell at Flass with a shaking voice? Was I that mean and greedy? I couldn't believe it. I sat there in the rain with Batman standing beside me. He bent down in front of me, sheltering me with his black cape. There was darkness, but I didn't mind it.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"...You broke down," Batman said. "...Are you all right?"

"...I don't know...I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I guess...when I heard the news of my parents deaths I--I became weak...And when I grew weaker..."

"You had a desire to be strong again?"

"Yes,"

There was silence between us. I could hear the rain over Batman's cape over my head. Next, I could feel his arms wrap around me. I guess he was taking me home, because the next thing I knew, I was flying through the rain and over Gotham again. This time, I didn't feel the rush of being free again. I have lost that privlege. When I returned to balcony that went into my room, I looked at Batman.

"Batman..." I said softly. "Did you really mean it?...About finding out who killed my parents?"

With that same gleam in his eyes, Batman just looked at me.

"I mean everything I say," he said. "I can give you the information tomorrow night. But like I said. Don't come to me. I come to you,"

Nodding, I turned to go inside, but I realized I forgot something.

"Wait," I said turning back. "I just wanna say..."

But when I turned back, Batman was gone. Out of sight. Looking around, I sighed, finishing my sentance.

"...Thank you,"

(A/N: Review please!)


	10. Saving the Day

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

The next morning was okay...I guess...I don't know. It still creeps me out even when I think about it today. I only had one nightmare about it so far, but that was it. After I had gotten ready for the day, I went to the kitchen to make myself some hot coco. It was pretty early, so I guessed no one else was up yet. So, it was just me, myself, and I, alone with a little quiet time. Although, I couldn't help but think about last night. Part of it scared me, since I lost control back there, and part of it comforted me. I was thankful that Batman had offered to find out what happened to my parents, and who killed them. But, then I had my doubts. How could anyone find out a murder case in less than 24 hours? It's impossible. But then again, he has done the impossible so far. He had gotten something out of Flass, fixed my dad's camera, delivered the biggest crime lord of Gotham to the authorities, saved my life when I thought it was over, and got me to speak when I couldn't find my voice. I had much to be thankful for, thanks to him. Including Bruce. He was willing to take me in when no one else would. My first best friend. And of course, Alfred too, who has been more than a friend to me. He had been the grandfather I had never met, but had always wanted. As I sat down with my mug, though, I heard a noise coming from upstairs. I thought nothing of it, thinking it was probably just my imagination. But then I heard it again, and I had this gut feeling to go and see what it was. Like Alice in Wonderland, I was curious, and was intent in finding out the noise. It was coming from Bruce's room. As I neared it, Alfred came out of it in a fast pace.

"Alfred?" I asked in a worried voice. "What's going on?"

"Miss Sarah," Alfred came to me. "Master Wayne is very sick right now,"

"Wh--Is he all right? I don't understand. He was fine last night. What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. But please, keep him company. I have to make a few phone calls,"

Before I could say anything more, Alfred was practically running down the hall. Cautiously, as though I was entering a dangerous territory, I opened Bruce's door and entered his room. I didn't fear getting sick from being in the same room with him, because Alfred was just in there, and he's fine. The first thing I noticed though were photographs on his desk. I took a look at them. The first picture was a man and a woman. After a bit of thinking, I realized they must've been his parents. I remembered the night before the funeral, Bruce told me what happened to his parents. I could almost picture the alley they were shot in...In a way, I think, Bruce and I are alike. I didn't know how, other than we were both orphans. But I pushed that out of my mind, and saw a different picture. This one was of Bruce when he was a little boy, with two girls at his side. One appeared older than the other...and yet, she looked like me in some way. My eyes went wide as I realized it was my mother. It was like looking at a different version of me. Smiling, happy, full of laughter. Things that I now dream of having. But who was the other little girl in the picture? I had to wonder.

"...Blood...Take--Take poison. Blood poison...poisonous," I heard a few mutters.

I whipped my head toward the bed to find Bruce. He was shaking uncontrollably, and muttering those awful things in his sleep. He must be really sick. I walked slowly toward the bed, and squatted down on the floor beside it, so I could see his face. It was so pale, and he was sweating. I didn't understand. Yesterday he was fine. He was having fun with me, he was showing me everything there was to know about Gotham City, and all the good things that I missed about it. How could he get sick? On his bedside table, I saw that case he showed me when I got in trouble at school. The sethescope that belonged to his father. The sethescope that he used on my heart and gave me a piece of his childhood. Gingerly, I opened it and took it out. Putting it to my ears, I placed it on his heart. His heart was racing, like something was scaring him. But...he was the bravest person I know. Besides Batman. And grown-ups can't get scared...can they?...Apparently, I was wrong. And yet, when I touched him, he seemed to calm down. As if he knew I was there. I felt more humble now, and a little bit more braver...Here comes the part that still creeps me out. Before I could even blink, Bruce snapped open his eyes, and grabbed my arm in a tight grip. I didn't scream, but I just jumped a little, and struggled to get out of his grip. I wasn't afraid of him, just worried that whatever he had might hurt me. He wouldn't let me go...Those eyes. It was happening again. Deja vu. Where have I seen those eyes before?

"Alfred!" I shouted.

I continued to struggle when Alfred came in. Bruce didn't know what he was doing. He was delusional. I don't even think he was awake when he grabbed me. But fear rose up inside of me as Alfred try to pry Bruce's grip from my arm. I guess he pushed me off so hard, because when Bruce finally let me go, I hit my head against the nightstand. I didn't get knocked out, just a splitting headache, and a little bit of blood trickled down my forehead from the impact. After he had settled Bruce down, Alfred looked at me...We both knew that I wouldn't be safe here at the Wayne Manor.

* * *

"Yes..." I heard Alfred talking on the phone. "Thank you Miss Dawes. I appreciate it,"

I had packed some of my stuff, and was sitting on the steps of the marble staircase in the entry hallway. Alfred had cleaned my cut on my forehead, and put a bandage on it, and while I was getting ready he called a family friend. A woman named Rachel Dawes. I was going to be staying with her for the next few nights, or at least until "Bruce gets back from his business trip". Alfred said he didn't want to worry anyone with Bruce being sick, and he told me to keep it our little secret. So I was going away for a few days. But during the day, since Rachel was working all day, I was going to be staying with the Farris's. I couldn't wait to spend the day with Ally and Nathan. But what about Batman?...Don't worry, I left a note on my window saying where I would be staying. That way, I would get the information on the death of my parents. So there I sat in the passenger seat as Alfred drove me to the Farris's.

"Is Bruce gonna be okay?" I asked him in a quiet voice.

"...I don't know Miss Sarah," Alfred said to me. "But don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I'm sure once we get someone to help him, he'll be just fine,"

"...I hope so...I don't want to go live with my Uncle if anything happens to him...Do you think Bruce would give me away?"

Alfred looked at me in a stern way as we stopped in front of the Farris's gate.

"Now why would you say something like that?" he asked me.

"I've been trouble since the day my parents died, Alfred," I said. "I don't wanna--"

"Miss Sarah, now you listen to me...When you were born, I drove Master Wayne to the hospital to see you and your parents. Your mother was sitting in her bed, your father by her side, and you in her arms. I suppose Master Wayne was almost 19 when you were born. And I remember your mother sending Miss Dawes out of the room, and your father also. And I too. But I did a little eavesdropping because I cared for your mother and Master Wayne. They were the best of friends, those two. But your mother said that your Uncle Edgar came over earlier and said that you were a disgrace. A born pauper and trouble maker. Your mother was in tears when she told all this to Master Wayne, and asked him to be your godfather. She told him that if anything ever happened to her and your father, that you should be sent straight to us, no matter what. And Master Wayne said that giving you away to someone else would be the last thing that he did...So don't get it in your head that Master Wayne doesn't want you in the house. Because he cares so much you have no idea...And your mother shouldn't have listened to your blockhead of an Uncle,"

I giggled a bit. I never expected Alfred to call my Uncle Edgar a blockhead.

"Because you are the total opposite of what he has said about you. You are a wonderful child, a ray of joy in the Wayne Manor, and a little princess,"

I smiled. Alfred had made me feel so much better, and I kept that smile on my face as we pulled up to the driveway, where the Farris family was standing outside...well Mr. and Mrs. Farris were standing. Ally and Nathan were playing with toy swords. Nathan had an eyepatch over his left eye and a bandana on his head. Ally had a pair of large gold hoop earrings, and a big belt buckle. I stepped out of the car, where Mrs. Farris greeted me with a kind and gentle smile.

"Welcome to our home Sarah Chante," she said. "It is Chante, isn't it?"

"Yes it is Mrs. Farris," I said.

"Ah," Mr. Farris said. "Chante. That means 'sing' in French. Do you sing, child?"

"Well...not exactly, sir. But I do have a little bit of French on my father's side...Thank you for letting me stay for the day,"

"Oh, it is no trouble at all, sweetheart," Mrs. Chante said to me.

"Hiya matey!" Ally waved to me

"Hi Ally!" I waved back.

"One second--"

Ally pretended to stab Nathan with her plastic sword in his side. Nathan pretended to die from the impact that Ally gave him. As he was groveling on the ground in "pain" saying "I'm dying. I'm dying" in a strained voice, Ally ran up to me with a smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well," I said remembering what Alfred told me. "Bruce is gone for a few days on business, so Alfred wondered it would be nice if I could spend the day with you,"

"Awesome! A sleepover!"

"Actually, I'm spending the night over at Rachel Dawes. She's a friend of my parents,"

Ally pouted a bit, but she seemed ecstatc about spending the day with me. I waved goodbye to Alfred, who told me to have a good time and to call him if anything happened. Before we arrived, I told him to call me if Bruce was all right. I ran inside with Ally and Nathan and took a look around their mansion. It was sort of modernized, but it was kind of cool. Everything in the entry was either black or white marble.What was it with fancy people and marble stuff?...It must be some kind of fad that everyone's going through these days.

"Wow," I said, hearing my voice echo. "Your house is big,"

"Not as big as your house," Ally said.

"But--You've never seen the Wayne Manor,"

"Everyone knows that Bruce Wayne has the biggest house in all of Gotham. I bet you have more stuff than I do,"

"...Well...I don't really know if that's true,"

"Oh,"

Ally seemed to have forgotten that she and I were total opposites. She was a glitz and glam kind of girl. I'm a bookworm kind of girl with a thirst for education. But she and Nathan showed me all around their house. Nathan was jumping around me, asking me what my favorite kind of superhero was. I never read any comic books before so I wouldn't know. Ally gave him a disapproving look.

"Nathan," she said. "It's not polite to crowd around people,"

"It's all right," I reassured her. "I don't have a favorite superhero Nathan, because I never read comic books,"

"You haven't?" Nathan asked me. "Then I'll show you! Come on!"

Nathan took my hand and dragged me upstairs to my room. Ally didn't seem to like it that Nathan was showing me his comic books. Both wanted to show me stuff that they liked so they could see who I liked better. But I liked both of them just as equally. Then, Ally got an idea.

"Do you know how to roller blade?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said.

"Come on," she said. "I have got a brilliant beyond brilliant idea. Nathan, you can come too,"

"Hooray!" Nathan cried with happiness.

I laughed out loud as I ran with Ally and Nathan downstairs and outside to the grounds...That was the first time I laughed like that for so long. The last huge laugh I had was when my father told me this practical joke he had planned to use on Flass for next April Fools Day. My dad was a real joker all the time, and he made me laugh everytime when I was down...Just wish he was here now. Ally and Nathan showed me their three golden retreiver dogs: Chewy, Colonel, and Genghas.

"Hey mom!" Ally called. "We're gonna take the dogs out for a walk!"

"All right," Mrs. Farris said.

Ally's idea was brilliant. Usually when you're asked to take out the dog, it's a chore for you to do. But Ally said she had ways of making things fun. After putting on our helmets and pads, we put the dogs on a leash, and rolled outside when Nathan opened the door. Ally warned me that Colonel, the dog I had with me, was fast and told me to be careful. I told her I'd be fine. It was really fun when the dogs pulled us as they ran fast. It gave me a sense of freedom, and teaching me to fly. For the first time in my life, I was laughing my head off for the longest time. Everytime I kept asking the dog to go faster, he went as fast as he could go.

"Sarah watch out!" I heard Ally shout.

I didn't have time to react. The dog's leash slipped out of my fingers when I turned to look what was coming at me. A big black car slammed on it's breaks. It hit me, and I rolled off the front of the car, and to the side of the road. I ended sitting up on the grass that brodered the road. Good thing I was wearing a helmet and pads. The door opened, and you'll never guess who came out of it. I wished it was just some other corporate business man who had accidently ran me over, but wishes were never good to me.

"I'm so sorry. Are you--" My Uncle Edgar came out of the car.

He found me on the ground, taking off my helmet, and Colonel running toward me, barking his head off. I looked at him, and he sneered at me.

"Oh," he said. "It's you,"

I bet he wouldn't even be sorry if it was another person he ran over. Ally and Nathan roller-bladed toward me, and sat with me on the grass.

"Are you okay?" Ally asked me. "You're not hurt are you?"

"No," I reassured her. "I'm fine. Just a bit dazed, that's all,"

"Come on,"

Ally and Nathan helped me up to my feet as the other dogs came with us. Colonel started growling at Edgar, and when the other dogs came up, they started growling too, baring their sharp teeth...Smart dogs.

"Colonel!" Nathan said. "Chewy! Genghas! Stop that! Be polite,"

The dogs wouldn't stop growling at Uncle Edgar. Ally sighed.

"Nathan, can you take them inside and tell dad Mr. Mason is here?" she asked him

Nathan grumbled to himself, saying something about "I have to do everything around here", but obeyed his sister. He took all three leashes and roller bladed to the house with them in front of them. Ally looked at Uncle Edgar with a sour look.

"You should get your brakes checked, Mr. Mason," she said in a snotty way. "It could hurt someone,"

"Where's the fun in that?" My Cousin Josh popped out from the backseat.

Great. Another person to try and ruin my day. Maybe if I stay out of their way today, they won't bother me...yeah right. Like that ever helped in the past. I saw Ally roll her eyes when she saw Josh. I was puzzled. I knew she thought that Josh was the biggest jerk in all of Gotham, to which I'm not arguing there, but she sort of added a tip of gace to the rolling of eyes.

"What are you doing here Jerk-Wad?" she asked him.

"Just came along for the ride to see my favorite cousin...," Josh sneered at me.

I winced and sort of hid behind Ally as Uncle Edgar went into the house. I started wishing that Bruce was here.

"...And my favorite girl,"

Ally scoffed again. She took my arm gently and led me away from Josh. I never knew that Josh had a crush on Ally up until this point, and Ally didn't seem to enjoy that. We went into the backyard where we took off our helmets and pads. It was beautiful. There were rose bushes everywhere and a pool. Ally said earlier we might go swimming, to which Nathan shrunk back in fear. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me he didn't like swimming. He didn't know how, and he was always afraid of drowning. To which Ally said "More fun for us!".

"I feel sorry for you that Josh is your cousin," Ally said. "How come you don't live with them? What'd you do to get out of it?"

"Nothing," I said as I unbuckled my knee pads.

"...No, seriously. What?"

"Nothing. It was all in the will that I had to live with Bruce no matter what. My parents would never let me live with Uncle Edgar,"

"Whoa. Your parents were awesome...They understood you didn't they?"

"Yeah. Bruce understands me too. It's like he knows what I'm going through. I mean he does. And he does anything to make me happy...except..."

"...What?..."

"I might not stay with him much longer,"

My emotions were growing sad. I had forgotten that Edgar was fighting to gain custody over me. I don't want to live with him. I wont. I wont, I won't, I won't. Bruce promised me that he would find a way that I could stay with him. Ally put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry," she said. "You can stay here until we get you back to Bruce if anything happens,"

I smiled at Ally and gave her a hug. She hugged me back. I was glad that I had a friend like her. Suddenly we saw Nathan come up running out of the house.

"I'm back!" he said with a smile on his face

We smiled back at him, laughing. He had a boom box with him so we could listen to music. It was very considerate of him to think of us. We were coming up to meet him and thank him. But we weren't prepared for this next event. Josh suddenly jumped out from the bushes, and gave Nathan quite a scare. We didn't realize Nathan was so close to the pool. He yelped, dropped the boom box, and fell into the water. Josh laughed his head off.

"What a riot!" he said

I had that thing snap inside of me again. I was angry at Josh. And I could tell Ally was furious. I rushed up to the pool.

"Are you crazy?" I asked him as I ran to the edge. "He can't swim! Move!"

I pushed Josh out of the way, and jumped into the freezing cold water. In the background, I could hear Ally calling for her parents and saying to Josh "Wait till I get my fingers wrapped around your neck, you sniveling piece of junk!". All I paid attention to was Nathan, who was struggling to get up to the surface.

"Help me!" he desperately cried.

"I'm coming," I tried to calm him down.

I swam toward him, and went under the water. My dad taught me never to go over the drowning victim, because it might make him go under more. This was one of the benefits of having parents who were detectives: You always knew what to do in an emergency situation. I just wished they taught me what to do if you were handcuffed to a pipe. I grabbed Nathan by the waist, and swam backward with him on top of me as Mr. and Mrs. Farris came out with my Uncle Edgar.

"My baby!" Mrs. Farris cried as Mr. Farris went on his knees.

"Come on Sarah," he urged me to go on. "You've got him,"

I continued to swim backward with Nathan in my arms. Ally was trying to get at Josh, but Mrs. Farris had her arms wrapped around her. Uncle Edgar just stood there with hands on his sons shoulders. I pushed Nathan up into the arms of Mr. Farris. Nathan was in tears, and clung to his father. Mr. Farris sighed with relief.

"Thank you," he said.

I nodded to him in acknowledgement as I caught my breath at the edge. I laid my head on the surface and closed my eyes, resting. That was the scariest moment of my life. I thought Nathan was going to drown. After giving his son to Mrs. Farris who wrapped him in a towel, Mr. Farris helped me out of the pool, and covered me with a towel.

"Mr. Mason," Mr. Farris said in a rage. "What is wrong with your son?"

"Come now Jonathon," Edgar laughed it off. "He was just playing. You know what they say: Boys will be boys,"

"Yeah," Ally put her comment in. "And jerks will be jerks,"

And with that, Ally punched Josh on the nose. I just sat there, dripping wet, and gaping at Ally.

"That was for my boombox, my brother, my best friend..." she went on with her list. "...And...What else?...Oh yeah! Because you're the biggest jerk in all of Gotham, and because I wanted to have the pleasure of being the first of knocking down your sorry butt,"

I laughed a bit, but Uncle Edgar jeered at me.

"I don't like your behavior child," he said to me. "This never would've happened if you were placed in my care,"

"My parents wanted Bruce to take care of me," I said to him in defense of my parents.

"Your parents didn't know what was good for you! And now look at you! Changing the way things should've have been, saving lives, and having the nerve to talk to me,"

"_Like you have the nerve to talk to me like that?_"

I covered my mouth. What did I just say to him? I had never seen Edgar so angry, he grabbed me by the collar the next thing I knew.

"I oughta ring your neck, girl!" he said.

"If you do so!" I found myself saying. "You'll lose the trial of where I should live!"

"I'll tell you where you should live!"

With that, he threw me back into the pool. Mrs. Farris gasped and Mr. Farris had called security to have Uncle Edgar and his "inhumane son" taken off the premisis.

"In the slums!" he shouted at me as he was dragged away by security. "In a dumpster! Rotting in an alley! That's where you belong! You don't belong here, you pauper! You Spawn of Traitors! _You Poor Little Rich Girl!_ **You Scum of the Narrows**!"

I didn't move or anything when I was taken once again out of the pool. He didn't scare me, he didn't even hurt me that much, but Uncle Edgar was the meanest and coldest person you could find on the planet. I was silent for the rest of the night. Ally and Nathan tried to cheer me up. Ally told me that they probably won't have the trial now, but Mrs. Farris said that Edgar had a way of getting what he wanted when she brought us our hot chocolate. Nathan said if Edgar won the trial, he'd take me to a far off place like Neverland or Wonderland or something like that. After that I felt so much better. When night started to fall, we were playing Peter Pan. Ally was Wendy, because she already had her pajamas on. Nathan was Jack, because he had a top hat that he had "borrowed" from his dad, who used it at dinner parties. I was given the role of Peter Pan. To make my hair look shorter, Ally braided my long brownish-blondish hair, and pinned it to the top of my head, so that it wouldn't fall out of my hat. The TV was on in Ally's room when we were getting ready for this.

"You have pretty hair," Ally said as she pinned my hair.

"Thanks," I said. "But it's not as pretty as yours,"

"Oh come on. At least you didn't dye your hair. Mine looks horrible,"

"No, I like it. It really shows your eyes,"

"Well...Eyes are the best features on a face...OK, I'll take your word for it"

"...And in other news today," We heard the newslady on the TV. "It's almost that time of year again. The biggest party of the year. Prince of Gotham, billionaire Bruce Wayne will be having his 30th birthday party in the biggest mansion of Gotham. Along with this celebration, Sarah Chante, his goddaughter who recently lost her parents before his return to Gotham, will make her debut as our very own Princess of Gotham..."

"_**What**_?" I asked in disbelief.

"Whoa," Ally said, who sounded impressed. "One week into the Fancy World of Gotham and already you're being called the Princess of Gotham,"

"But--I didn't know that I was going to appear that way at his birthday party. Bruce didn't even tell me--"

"I wonder what dress you're gonna wear. Do you have a dress?"

"A dress--No! No, I don't have one. Ally, aren't you even listening to me?"

"Sorry. I'm just so excited for you. Your debut as the Princess of Gotham. It's like a coronation or something like that,"

I groaned and put my head in my hands. I wasn't upset about the debut thing, but I was kind of upset about Bruce not telling me about this. Why didn't he tell me?...Was he going to tell me today if he wasn't sick? I didn't know. The only thing I was looking forward to right now, was information on my parents deaths.

"Ally!" Mrs. Farris called us. "Sarah! Miss Dawes is here!"

Ally groaned, but I grabbed my coat off of her bed, and said goodbye to Nathan, who was sleeping on the floor, clutching his plastic sword. Ally and I raced downstairs to find Mrs. Farris talking to a young woman. She had brown hair that went past her shoulders, and a sweet looking face. I put on my coat as we came down the stairs.

"Oh my goodness," Rachel put a hand to her mouth "That can't be Sarah Chante,"

"You know who I am?" I asked.

"Of course. I knew your mother when I was very little. Not to mention I fed you your bottles until you were walking and talking. I'm Rachel,"

"Oh,"

I had forgotten that Alfred told me that Rachel knew me since I was born. I figured she didn't visit us that much since she was busy at work.

"You look so much like your mother," Rachel said to me. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," I said with a smile. "Bye Mr. and Mrs. Farris! Bye Ally! See you tomorrow!"

The Farris's and their daughter waved goodbye to me as we walked outside. Rachel was telling me that when we got to her apartment to brush my teeth and go onto the roll away bed she had already laid out. When I was just getting to her car, I stepped on something metallic. Looking down at my feet, I saw something shaped like a bat. As Rachel got out her keys, I picked it up. It was one of the batarangs Batman used. I looked around. Was he here? Was he coming?

"Sarah," Rachel said my name. "You ready to go?"

"...Yeah," I said getting into the car.

* * *

Matthew MacCallister, the man who read the will of Luke and Jennifer Chante, had a very rough day. He had a lot of calls made from a lot of people, half of which came from Edgar Mason telling him to release Sarah Chante into his care.

"It wasn't my decision," MacCallister had told him. "It was Luke and Jennifer's,"

The next morning, he was going to call the judge and tell him to have a restraining order, and not have Mr. Mason call him again about the custody of the child in question. Taking out his keys and walking through the half empty car garage, he was getting ready to drive home, when he heard a noise, and air rush out.

"Aw great," he said bending down next to the back tires of his car.

Air was coming out of his tire through a big hole. But what was that noise? It sounded again, this time hitting him in the shoulder. He yelled out in pain. Someone was shooting at him. He realized this as he collapsed to the concrete floor, blood flowing from his shoulder. When he went for his cell phone, a voice sounded.

"Don't you dare call the police!" he said.

MacCallister gasped when out of the shadows came the shooter. It was dark, so all MacCallister could hear was his voice, and see the outline of the man.

"What do you want?" MacCallister gasped in pain.

"Oh, you know full well what I want MacCallister," the shooter said. "...Sarah Chante,"

"The goddaughter of Bruce Wayne?...What would you want her for?"

"All I want is to see her bruised, bleeding, lying on the ground, in pain, writhing..."

And with that, the shooter shot MacCallister in the head, and he fully collapsed to the ground, life passing away from his body.

"In a few short words," the shooter said. "...I want her _dead_,"

(A/N: Uh Oh. Review please if you want to find out what's going to happen next)


	11. Just Like Batman

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

When I awoke the next morning, I awoke to disappointment. I had shot out of my bed with excitement, in hopes that Batman had come during the night. The thought of finally knowing what happened to my parents filled my head all night, and just now when I woke up. Rapidly putting on my green sweatshirt, I raced outside to the balcony, which Rachel had in her apartment. At first, I thought he might come into the apartment. But then I thought that if he did, he might put it somewhere where I would see it when I would wake up. Nevertheless, I was searching high and low outside, underneath flower pots, and on the fire escape. And when that didn't work, I went inside. Maybe he did come inside the apartment, and I just slept through it. I looked under the small space underneath the roll-away bed that came out from the couch. To get better a view, I turned the lamp on that was sitting at the coffee table. Nothing under the couch. I looked in the kitchen. In cupboards, in cabinets, even the refrigerator. I was growing desperate by the minute. But I never showed it when Rachel came into the kitchen, just putting on her jacket, getting ready for work. She looked up, and saw me searching through the refrigerator, and put on the famous amused smile almost everyone seemed to be giving me.

"Looking for something to eat?" she asked.

I jumped, almost bumping the top of my head on the top shelf in the refrigerator. Turning around to face her, I was growing nervous. I didn't want to lie to her, but then I didn't want her to be mad if she found out I spent most of my nights waitng for the Dark Knight to come see me again. No one is supposed to know about my secret meetings with Batman. No one. Not Rachel. Not Ally or Nathan. Not my relatives. Not Bruce or Alfred. **_Especially_ **Bruce or Alfred. I haven't known them to lose thier tempers, because they were so gentle to me. But if I told them that I knew Batman, I couldn't even imagine how furious they would be, after they put their trust in me. And I didn't want to lose Rachel's trust.

"Um..." I said. "I was just wondering if you had any orange juice,"

Rachel smiled, and opened the refrigerator door to reveal the orange juice carton on the bottom shelf

"Oh," I said putting on a smile. "There it is,"

"Why don't you go get ready for school?" Rachel asked. "I'll make you some breakfast. Any favorites?"

"Scrambled eggs sounds good,"

"Scrambled eggs it is,"

My head was still filled with thoughts of Batman as I got my green and black uniform on in Rachel's bathroom. Why didn't he come last night? I left a note on my window, and he promised. Did he get held up at something? My thoughts then trailed to the batarang I had that was hidden deep in my backpack. Did he leave that as a sign? Or did he drop it when he was flying? I couldn't find the answers to this question as I brushed my hair into a ponytail and went to eat breakfast with Rachel. As we ate, she told me all the stories about how my mother, Bruce and her used to have these little adventures when they were around my age. She told me that my mother was their protector at school, since she was 4 years older than them, and "had a lot of guts". It was true that my mother was very gutsy considering her occuptaion choice. One particular story was when they found an arrow head in the garden I liked to go into. She told me this as we walked down the street to school

"So then I hid under the table with it," she said to me. "Of course, Bruce found me, and I told him 'Finders Keepers' because I was the one who found it. But since it was in his garden, I let him see it. But Bruce had to be a little mischevious and grabbed it out of my hand,"

I giggled a bit, imagining the story in my head.

"I like the garden," I replied to her. "Bruce doesn't let me go in there though,"

To this, Rachel was silent a bit. I looked at her as we stopped at the en of the sidewalk, waiting for the walk sign to show it's light.

"What is it?" I asked concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"...You know, that is very ironic," she said. "Because that actually leads up to what happened to Bruce,"

"What happened?" I asked as we walked down the walkway.

"He was hiding on top of a well, and it was boarded shut years before,"

The well. The well I fell asleep by when I dropped my broken locket.

"I couldn't find him, and he fell in, fracturing his wrist. I rushed inside to tell my mother, Alfred, and his father...An hour later they got him out of there. And as his father carried him inside, he gave me the arrowhead...I still have it. It's in a box on top of my dresser...But after they pulled him out of that well, he...changed somehow,"

Rachel was hesitant in her words.

"How?" I asked.

"...I asked him what happened to him the next day," she continued. "And he replied that he was attacked by a swarm of bats in the well...And ever since then, he's been afraid of bats,"

So that's what Bruce was afraid of. Bats. Why? Most were harmless. And bats never bothered you unless you bothered them. Plus, I never thought the Bruce would be afraid of anything...**Note to Self**: Never tell him about Batman if worse comes to worse.

"I thought grown ups weren't afraid of anything," I said.

Rachel smiled.

"Grown-ups are no different than children, Sarah," she said. "We all get scared,"

"Wow..." I said in a sort of whisper. "I never knew that about Bruce,"

"...There's a lot of things you don't know about Bruce Sarah,"

"I know, but...I mean he'd tell me all these things, right? In time?...Rachel?"

Rachel looked at me as we neared the school.

"Sarah," she took my hand. "Sweetheart, you can't expect everyone to tell you everything. Bruce may or may not tell you everything about him, but there will always be a way for you two to help each other. You're very much alike you know,"

"I know," I said. "...But I'd rather have people be honest with me,"

Rachel nodded in agreement as she looked at her watch.

"Oh no," she said. "I'm gonna be late. OK, Ally and Nathan are taking you home with them, and I'll pick you up around 7:30 all right?"

I nodded and waved goodbye to Rachel as we both went our seperate ways. I thought about Bruce and his fear of bats. I found it quite strange. I had two people in my life who were complete opposites. Bruce as afraid of bats, and Batman had some sort of obsession with the strange animal. Bruce is a billionaire; Batman is some sort of caped crusader. Bruce had a kind and gentle voice; Batman had a really raspy one that made him sound dangerous. So, what could these two people possibly have in common, besides the fact that they both have...light green eyes?...Ugh. The eyes thing again. Where have I seen those eyes? Do you think that...No. They couldn't be the same. Bruce couldn't be Batman. I would know if he was. And he'd tell me too. **_Bruce Wayne was NOT Batman_**. How could I even let myself think that? When I walked into the doors of school, I prepared myself for another week of school. But I never imagined that I would be praised like I was one of the most popular girls in school. The first step I took, a bunch of cheerleaders with their green and black pom-poms came and asked if I wanted to join their squad. They had enough but they said they could squeeze in one more and make me captain. Then a group of boys grabbed my arm and led me away as they asked me if I wanted an escort to Bruce's birthday party. I felt like I was being suffocated by this mass of students. I didn't understand. Last week, they ignored like the scum I was. Now I'm popular? Did I step into some freaky parallel universe or something? Before I could even try to step out of the crowd, Ally came to the rescue. She grabbed my arm, and pulled me out of the crowd and into the girls bathroom.

"Dang," she said peeking out through the door. "And I thought the paparazzi would be worse. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said taking deep breaths. "What just happened out there?"

"That," she said as she checked her hair in the mirror. "Was a crowd of students lining up--well, more like buzzing around you--To become your best friend in the whole world,"

"Why?"

"Hello! You're the goddaughter of Bruce Wayne! You're debuting tomorrow night as the Princess of Gotham! You're the girl every girl wants to be. Every guy wants to be with--"

"But they already knew that, and they still treated me like some sort of alien from outer space,"

All just simply smiled, and looked at me.

"Tell that to Gotham Teen," she said. "They're the ones who got the information on you from an anonymous source,"

"What information?" I asked more questions. "What anonymous source?"

Ally, always one being prepared, took out her copy of Gotham Teen from her backpack. My eyes went wide as I saw my picture on the front cover with Bruce by my side. The title of the issue was "Princess In The Making". I flipped the pages to the cover story of me. A lot of things they had written about me were untrue, however.

"What is this?" I asked as I looked at a page. "_'After the death of her parents, twelve-year-old Sarah Chante was considered to be put into mental care because when the police gave her the news, she immedietly started throwing household things around the room she was in'_. Who would believe this?"

"Not me, that's for sure," Ally said. "Do you want to continue?"

"No," I said dropping the magazine. "I can't even look at it,"

Ally picked up the magazine, as I held myself to try and stop shaking from anger and anxiousness. Who would tell this to somebody? When I heard about my parents I just stood there like an idiot. Inside me, tears were swelling up in my heart, and a lump formed in my throat as I heard Ally read another article about me and Bruce this time

"_'30 year old Bruce Wayne had returned around that time, and had heard about the girl's loss'_," she read. "'_Being somewhat like her, and feeling sorry for the young girl, he immedietly took the girl under his wing. But word from our sources say that she hasn't been very happy with Gotham's billinoaire playboy, and hasn't been paying much attention to her, given the fact of his little escapade a few nights after his return when he came into a restauraunt with two women, bought the whole hotel, and swam with the European models in the swimming pool that was only used for decoration'_,"

I whipped my head around at this.

"What?" I asked. "When did this happen?"

Ally just showed me the pictures of Bruce and the European models he was apparently with. They say a picture was worth a thousand words. But when I saw him climbing into that small pool, and walking out of the hotel with a wet suit, I had a million words that I wanted to say. I never knew about this. Why didn't he tell me? Tears swelled up in my eyes. What was going on? Why wasn't Bruce telling me anything? The Princess of Gotham thing, the lie about my emotional state, and now I find out he was buying hotels?...

"Maybe Josh was right," I said simply.

"About what?" Ally asked. "...What did the Jerk-Wad tell you this time?"

"The other day, Bruce took me to the zoo. Josh was there, and he kept telling me these things about Bruce, that he only took me in to improve his image," I explained as I wiped a tear away from my cheek.

Ally, from the corner of my eye, put her hands on her hips, and looked at me sternly, like a mother would at a child if it had done something wrong.

"Don't you ever listen to Josh," she said. "He's a loser. Everyone knows that,"

"Yeah," I agreed. "But now, everyone's going to believe this stuff that's written about me,"

I shook the magazine in my hands after I had taken it from Ally's fingers.

"Don't worry," she said. "Leave it all up to me. By the end of the day, everyone will think that you are truly a Princess of Gotham. All you have to do is act the part,"

"How?" I asked as Ally got her backpack.

"Well," she started as she peeked out of the bathroom. "For starters, always smile. Come on, show me a smile,"

I winced sort of. This was going to be harder than I thought. But how hard could smiling be? My lips played a smile on my face. Ally nodded in approval after the coast was clear.

"Good," she said as we walked to our first class. "Now, shoulders back, stand up tall..."

I did those things. So far, so good...

"...And when you walk, shake your booty a little bit,"

I stopped.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

Ally stopped and cringed.

"Um..." she said. "Sorry. Let's wait for that until we're in the ninth grade,"

"Thank you," I said.

I would do anything, really, right now to be something they expect me to be. But the last thing I will do is walk around school, or in public or private for that matter,shaking my butt. Throughout the day Ally continued to give me lessons. During break, she taught me how to walk down the stairs with "grace and poise". She said that I would make a good impression with this at Bruce's birthday party. I didn't think that I would impress that many people. But lately, I've heard talk from students who say that their parents "Can't wait to see that little angel in a beautiful dress at one of the most grand parties of the year". Nathan even helped too. He said when I walked around, I should imagine I'm floating or flying. Compared to Ally's "Grace and Poise" Technique, that was actually a better method for me, since I already knew what it felt like to fly. By the time lunch came around, I was now turned into a full-tme popular girl. I was waiting for Ally to come to the cafeteria, so I was left alone, with Nathan as my "bodygaurd". Boys asked me if they could be my escort at the party, but Nathn stepped in front of me, puffed out his chest as if to match their size, and said in the most stiff manner as possible:

"That position has been filled," he said. "By _me_,"

Even though they gave me weird looks for letting a second grader be my escort, they still invited me to parties they were having later this weekend. I told them I'd have to ask Bruce, and told them thank you for inviting me. As me and Nathan finally got our food from the lunch line, we both looked around to see if there was any place to sit. We were finally deciding to go outside, when I heard a voice from behind me.

"You're that new girl, aren't you?" it said.

I turned around, and saw a blonde girl my age staring at me. There were other girls who were blonde, and they stared at me too. But I couldn't be impolite and not answer, even though I found their staring odd.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm--"

"We know who you are," the blonde girl said. "Sarah Chante. Twelve years old. Grew up in the Narrows..."

"You're the girl that had that nervous breakdown?" asked another blonde girl.

The first blonde haired girl sighed. Inside me, my stomach turned. I had hoped these girls hadn't read that article

"Veronica," she said. "Can you just shut up? No one talks while **I'm** talking,"

I cringed a little bit as the girl turned from nasty to nice when she looked at me. Nathan didn't seem to like it too, so he hid behind me. Like the way I hide behind Bruce when I'm scared or shy.

"I'm Haley Kingston," she said. "I'm sure you've heard about all my modeling for teen clothing,"

"Sorry," I said. "No,"

Haley Kingston didn't seem to care about that. Instead she patted a seat next to me. Again, I couldn't be impolite, so I just sat down next to her.

"I can't stay long," I said setting down my tray. "I'm meeting a friend of mine,"

"Oh, it'll only be a minute," Haley said. "So...were you popular in your old school?"

"Well...I don't know, I mean..."

"Of course you weren't. If you were, you'd be as popular as me by now,"

"But I--"

"Excuse me. Talking here,"

I just sat there and looked at Nathan, who sat beside me with a nervousness in him. That was rude. And I thought Josh was bad...wait...never mind. I'd rather take Haley Kingston's rudeness over my relatives meaness any day of the week.

"What's it like living with a billionaire play boy?" Haley asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, do you think he's hot or somthing like that?"

"Why, do you?"

The blonde girls went "_Aww_" as Nathan stuck out his tongue in disgust. I would've done it too. They just asked me if I had a crush on Bruce. Ugh. Why did I have to go through with this?

"How cute," Veronica said. "She's shy,"

"No wonder you live with him," Haley said. "I've read somewhere that's what he liked about girls,"

"For your information," I said. "Why would I think that my godfather is hot? I mean, aren't we a little young to be thinking about boys right now?"

"You're never too young,"

"And not to mention the fact that he's turning 30 tomorrow. We're **twelve**,"

"Who cares?"

"Haley?" I heard Ally's voice. "What are you doing to my friend and my brother?"

We all turned around, and found Ally with a disgusted look on her face. Haley's face turned sour as she wrapped a long, thin arm around me, that made me shudder

"I'm teaching her how to be popular," she said. "Is that a problem?"

"Yes there's a problem," Ally said as she pulled Nathan out of the seat. "_I don't think Sarah's ready to sell her soul to the devil_,"

"You think that's supposed to insult me?"

"...Hey Haley, you know something?"

"What Farris?"

"There's a mole on your cheek,"

Immedietly, Haley took her arm off from around me, and took out her compact mirror. I took the chance of getting out of there as fast as possible with Ally and Nathan. We took off in the hallway, and when we were as far as possible, we just looked at each other. Ally started giggling a bit. Nathan cracked a smile, and I was holding in my stomach to refrain from laughing. Even though it was cruel, Ally's trick on Haley Kingston was pure genius. For the first time in my life I felt normal with the way I was laughing with my two best friends in the whole world.

"Wow," Ally wiped a tear of laughter away. "I can't believe she fell for that. What did they do to you, anyway?"

"Oh, nothing," I sighed as we walked down the hall. "She asked me if I was popular in my old school, if I knew all about her modeling career, and if I thought Bruce was hot--"

"_Ewww_," Ally gave off a disgusted look. "Why would she ask his goddaughter of all people?"

I shrugged. This had been one crazy day...But it was just about to get crazier.

* * *

I sat in my history class, with Ally beside me as we worked on tonight's homework. We had free time, and we wanted to get done as fast as possible if Nathan wanted me to teach him how to swim, and if Ally wanted to see if we could find a dress that would fit me in her closet. We were almost done, until one of the principal's aides came inside the classroom, and whispered something to the teacher. They both nodded in some sort of agreement, and turned to me.

"Sarah Chante," the teacher said. "Mrs. Rose would like to see you in her office,"

Some of the studens started "ooing", but Ally told them to shut up. Since it was almost the end of the day, I took my backpack with me as I walked out of the classroom. I walked behind the principal's aid with ease and calmness. I knew I wasn't in trouble or anything, so why would I have to worry?Before long, I was in the principal's office, waiting to be asked to come in. The aide told me to wait outside while he announced my arrival. I waited patiently for about 2 minutes, until they asked me to come in. Shifting my backpack up my shoulder, I walked into the office. But I never expected to find Jim Gordon, a friend of my parents, and Comissioner Loeb standing with Mrs. Rose.

"Sarah," Mrs. Rose gave me a comforting smile. "Have a seat,"

"If you excuse me, Mrs. Rose," I said with the most polite manner possible. "But, can you tell me what's going on?"

There was silence, which set me off uneasily. I saw Mrs. Rose glance at Gordon, who glanced a Comissioner Loeb. I started to worry.

"Is Bruce all right?" I asked, concerned of my godfather's well being.

"Oh, he was fine, last time we saw," Comissioner Loeb replied. "It's actually _you_ that has to be all right,"

"Why? What's going on?...Jim?..."

I was growing nervous by the second. To comfort me, Jim bent down to my level, and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Sarah," he said. "We just want you to know that we're going to do everything we can to keep you safe, and to keep everyone else from getting hurt. Most of all, you,"

"...Jim," I said with breaths. "What happened?"

Jim looked at Comissioner Loeb, who turned to me.

"Last night," he started. "The department recieved a call from Matthew MacCallister. We didn't actually get to talk to him, but dispatch was able to catch some of the conversation that took place,"

"What conversation?" I asked.

"We've no idea. But it was most certainly about you,"

"...Me? Why would they talk about me? Who was he talking to anyway?...What's going on?"

"We found Matthew MacCallister's body in the parking garage near his firm. Autopsy said they found a bullet in his head,"

Jim squeezed my hand to comfort me for this next part.

"It was the same calliber your parents were shot with," he said softly to me.

I looked at Jim with fright in my eyes.That man...that murderer...the murderer who killed my parents. Who killed Matthew MacCallister. He's out there. He's still out there. Waiting. Waiting for me. Waiting for the golden oppurtunity to come and find me. And kill me. He wants to kill me. But why? What did I ever do to him? I wanted to crumple on the ground, but I couldn't. I mean, I wouldn't. I was tired of crying, and letting people think I was some insecure little girl, who always hides herself in a book to get away from reality's problems. But I couldn't stop myself from shaking and gasping as if I was choking before, and was just now getting air. Jim gave me a comforting hug, and told me everything was going to be all right, and that they'd catch him as soon as possible. But soon was not soon enough. I had to find Batman. And fast.

* * *

I walked out of the office to find Ally and Nathan with worried looks.

"What happened?" Ally rushed up to me. "We saw a police car outside by the buses,"

I didn't say anything, but let myself lean against the wall, as if to catch my breath. Nathan held my hand.

"Please tell us, Sarah," he said softly.

"...That man who killed my parents," I said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "He's out there looking for me right now,"

I heard Ally gasp, and felt Nathan's hand squeeze mine tighter. I looked at them to find fear dancing in their blue and green eyes. They know now that I was still a target when we all thought that I was safe. But I wasn't. I wasn't with Bruce or Alfred. I wasn't with Rachel. And the only times I would ever get to be with Batman was at night. Right now, I could be an open target...So could Ally and Nathan, just for being with me.

"Ally, did you call your mom to come pick us up?" I asked.

"Yeah," Ally replied softly. "She's sending the limo driver,"

"We have to stay in here, and stay together until we're picked up,"

"OK. We understand. We'll stay with you,"

I was glad to have friends like Ally and Nathan with me right now. We walked around the school, partially in silence, and the rest was me telling them what happened to poor Matthew MacCallister. At first they couldn't believe it, because they thought it was scary enough to be in a horror movie. It was, but this was more than scary. This was reality. We walked into the auditorium so that we could be alone in our conversation.

"Sarah," Ally started. "I'm so sorry. Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "The police are doing everything they can. They've got police scanners on 24/7, they've called Wayne Manor, my relatives, Rachel, and your parents to inform them..."

"What about you?" Nathan asked. "What are you going to do?"

"Well," I sat down on th edge of the stage with them. "I figured when Bruce gets back from his business trip tomorrow, I can call him before school, and ask if I could be home schooled until all this is over. That way, I could stay safe, and I'd be out of danger,"

"Wow," Ally said. "You've really got all this planned out,"

"My parents always said to have a strategy before you put it into action. And back-up plans in case that doesn't work,"

"_Home schooled_?" exclaimed Nathan. "You can't. Who's gonna protect me from Josh and his buddies?"

Nathan hugged me from behind, and buried his face in my shoulder. I hugged him back. I was his protector. I knew that. Just like Batman and Bruce protected me from the dangers of Gotham. But I couldn't just abandon Nathan like that. He was like me when I was his age. Scared and insecure. I turned to Ally as if to ask "Will you help me watch him?". But before I could start to say anything, she spoke.

"No need to ask," she held up her hands. "Josh is gonna wish he never had a crush on me if he does something to Nathan like he did yesterday,"

"How so?" We heard Josh.

Looking up, we saw him coming down the aisle with two of his buddies. I groaned in my head. Another day ruined. I looked up at the cieling as if to pray: Please, don't let me get in trouble again. Ally stood up with a stance, as I stood with Nathan in front of me, my arms wrapped around his chest.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked. "Like doing petty theft at the candy shop down the street?"

"Actually, yeah I do," Josh said as his two goons nodded with him. "We've got a game to play. It's called _'Hide and Seek'_,"

Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"That's a stupid game," his mouth ran away with him.

"Shut up, you little shrimp!" Josh shouted.

"Hey!" Ally and I exclaimed.

That thing inside me. It snapped again. I moved Nathan toward his sister, and jumped off the stage. I walked slowly toward Josh...like Batman would. My eyes darkened. _Just like Batman's_. My head was high, and I stood up tall. **Just like Batman**. And I spoke in a voice so hard and harsh..._**Just like Batman**_.

"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" I asked.

I never felt this brave before. It felt so powerful. I didn't even flinch when I saw the look on Josh's face.

"Since when did you get all so brave?" he asked.

"...Since now," I said with the same voice.

...Can I just say one thing?...I LOVE this newfound courage of mine. I wonder what else I could do with it.

"Why you little--" Josh started.

Uh-Oh. I knew this was coming sooner or later. Josh took a swing at me, but I ducked out of the way. When I regained my composure, I found that the hit that was meant for me, swung around, and hit Josh's buddies, knocking them down to the ground, and Josh going down with them. They laid on the ground for a second about 5 inches away from me. I took this golden oppurtunity to escape while I could. I started running up the stage.

"Come on!" I shouted at my two friends

I didn't want to leave Ally and Nathan behind to face the wrath of my cousin and his friends. They both ran with me to the back of the stage, that was draped with black curtains and props and backdrops for school plays and stuff. We all hid in seperate places. Nathan hid in a small castle tower that was small, but big enough to hid him at the top. Ally his in a bunch of costume boxes, covering herself with feathered hats, and way-too-poofy dresses. As for me, I hid up on the catwalk after quickly climbing up a 30 foot ladder, and hid behind black curtains, concealing my prescense. From a small space of vision of the dark drapds, I saw Josh and his two buddies come up to the stage, and searched for me and my friends.

"Where'd they go?" Josh asked aloud.

"...Do you think they disappeared?" asked one of his goons.

Disappeared. Yeah right. Who would ever disappear out of thin air? Honestly? I mean, how many people would...wait a minute...disappear...black drapes...I looked around to see if there was anything else. To my luck, there was. There was a plain black bandana and black mask hidden in the corners picking up dust. Quickly, I took the two rubber bands that held my braided ponytail, and made two pointed ears out of the bandana. Then I dusted off the mask, and put it on my face. There was a loose drape on the floor, so I quickly draped it over my shoulders...In case you haven't figured this out, I was forming a plan in my mind, as quick as the speed of light. After I had finished putting on my "costume", I looked again through the small sace of the hanging drapes, and saw Josh moving towards the boxes of costumes, as he pulled something out of his back pocket. I realized it was the same knife he tried to use on me when I first came to school. I let out a silent gasp. Ally was in those boxes. Looking around again, I thought there was something extra I could use. A light box was to my left, and I quickly moved toward it. A huge lever the size of a papaya indicated that it was the power lever. My fingers entwined around the handle, and I closed my eyes.

_Come on Sarah_. I thought. _You can do this. Ally and Nathan need your help. If Batman can scare people in the dark, then so can **you**._

I nodded after that bit of encouragement I gave myself, and pulled the lever down, turning off every light in the auditorium, even the emergency light switch.

"What happened?" I heard Josh's voice.

"I think the power went out," said a goon's voice

"That was a rhetorical question!"

I could only see just a little bit in the dark. After those two encounters with Batman, I had gotten use to seeing in the dark. There was a rope tied to the side to use for flying portions during plays. I quickly untied it and wrapped it around my waist, as I made a few noises, to try and scare my cousin out of his wits. This time, it was my turn to make his life a nightmare. I was going to scare him good. I jumped on the catwalk, making it rattle just a little bit, but loud enough to echo throught the room. I heard the boys yelp, and one even screamed like a girl...I think it was Josh...After I tied the rope around my waist, I made a loud deep raspy growl in my throat. I tried to make it as realistic to Batman's as possible as I climbed up on the railing, carefully as an trapeze artist

"Wh-what was that?" I heard Josh. "Who's there?"

Time to make myself known. Not as Sarah Elisabeth Chante, the insecure little girl who his herself in books and unkept gardens that made me live inside magical worlds...but as a girl with a mask.

_I hope I don't fall from this rope_ I thought to myself as I jumped up from the railing of the catwalk, spreading my "wings" out as far as I could.

I emerged from the curtains that concealed my hiding place, and flew over Josh and his friends. They saw me, and they yelled in fright, cowering with each other, huddling like a bunch of scared mice. I landed with a crouch, and glared at them through my mask. I realized now that I could be brave as another person. Like someone out of a storybook that I had longed to be. I was another person. I was Batman...well, sort of. But they thought I was the real thing. They thought I was **THE** Batman. The Batman who put Falcone behind bars. The Batman that made the police force thing of him as threat. The Batman who saved my life on his first night in protecting Gotham. My eyes glowed at them like the moon in the darkness. I could feel Ally and Nathan peek behind their hiding places as they watched me (or in their eyes "Batman") confront the bullies that taunted and teased them to get the day go by faster. I saw Josh tremble with fear, the knife in his hand shaking vigorously. I just stared at him as his two friends backed away slowly, hoping I didn't notice them. But I did. I took one look at them and only said one word.

"Boo," I said in my raspy voice.

The two friends screamed and ran for it, jumping off the stage, and pushed open the doors out of the auditorium, showing the hallway, which shown the only light into the darkened room. It would've shown my face if I hadn't covered it with the "cape". Josh just stood there, staring at me with a petrified look. Good. He should be scared of me...I mean, he should be scared of Batman...I mean, well, you guys know what I mean. With one swift move, just like Batman would, I grabbed his arm, and grabbed the knife out of his fingers, throwing it off the stage, and grabbed him by the collar. If I was strong enough, I would've been able to lift him off the floor, but I brought him to my face, and let him fear the look in my eyes

"Who are you?" Josh asked in a scared way.

"You know who I am, Josh Mason," I said in that raspy voice. "I'm Batman. The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The man in the mask who will haunt your dreams, and follow you wherever you cause trouble,"

"...You-you know who I--"

"I've heard all about you from a friend of mine. I swear, if you ever hurt her or her friends, I will know, and I will find you no matter where you are,"

Josh was now stuttering in his words.

"I-I promise. I, I won't hurt anyone anymore," he said. "I swear to--"

"**_SWEAR TO ME!_**"

"I mean, I swear to you! _I swear to you_!"

I felt satisfied and smiled in my head. I pushed him roughly to the hard wood floor of the stage.I pointed one hand out from under my cloak and pointed to the door to show him his exit. He stumbled off, and ran for it. I watched him leave, his legs flailing about in a hurry. I felt Ally and Nathan come up behind me. I swiftly turned around, and they stood back in fright. Ally grabbed Nathan, and pulled him behind her.

"Look, mister," Ally said. "If you've got a--"

"Ally, relax," I said in my normal voice. "It's me,"

"Sarah?"

"Cool!" I heard Nathan. "You're the Batman,"

"...Well, not really. I just put this stuff on to scare them off,"

I heard Ally laugh and clap her hands once.

"Well you sure did," she said. "Where are you?"

"I'm only two steps in front of you," I said holding out my hands. "Come on, I'll take this stuff out and we can go to your house,"

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty normal. Except Nathan kept asking if he could hear the Batman voice again. I did it a couple of times, until I thought I was going to lose my voice. Ally and I did our homework in her room, eating popcorn and drinking Kool-Aid. During this, we kept frinking it as much as we could until our teeth turned red. When Ally's mom saw this, she told us to go brush our teeth until it was all off. After homework, Ally looked in her wardrobe closet and said she found the perfect dress for me to wear for Bruce's birthday tomorrow. Indeed it was pretty. It was a black dress with white designing. A little black jacket with a white button went over my shoulders. Ally said she would have someone send it over to Wayne Manor, so it could be there for me when I came back home. When all the important stuff was done, Ally, Nathan and I spent the rest of the night recreating the scene where I had my little "Batman" episode. But then I remembered about what Batman promised when Rachel picked me up. He was supposed to give me information on my parents deaths last night, and he didn't come. Why? The next time I saw him, I was going to ask for it immedietly, and tell him that my parents killer was after me. And if that wasn't bad enough, I also remembered about Edgar's battle to get custody over me. Like I said before, I wasn't going with him. I was going to stay with Bruce. And if that didn't work...well, I'll think of something. I sat on my roll-a-way bed on Rachel's couch, playing with the batrang I found the other night that belonged to Batman. The thin edges ran along my fingers, but not enough to cut my skin. Getting a creative idea, I took out a piece of paper, coloring pencils, and something to put my stuff on. Placing the batarang, I traced it on the piece of paper, carefully, my tongue sticking out as if I was in concentration. After perfecting the bat drawing, I traced a small heart on the center of it. I colored the bat black, and the heart gold. After drawing all this, I looked at it, pondering. It was an interesting drawing. I wondered why I would place a gold heart in the center of the bat. Maybe it was something inside people. Like Batman. Outside he looked dangerous and cold and dark, but inside, he was nice and comforting. He sheltered me with his dark cape. He made me feel safe when I wrapped his arms around me, in order to protect me when we were flying, or when something was scaring me...I wonder where he is now...

"What's that you got there?" Rachel came in.

"Nothing," I quickly put away the drawing and batarang under my pillow

Rachel smiled at my quickness to cover up my private things, and sat with me on my bed.

"Ready for tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yep," I replied.

"I heard about the Princess of Gotham thing. You must be excited,"

"Not really,"

"...Is something bothering you Sarah?"

I shrugged. I was bothered about a lot of things. Was Bruce going to be okay from whatever he was sick from? Was Batman ever going to come back? Would my Uncle Edgar stop terrorizing me? Would my parents killer go away and forget about killing me. The answers to the questions were: I don't know, I don't know, not a chance, and no. Instead, I asked her a question.

"Rachel," I started. "If you thought you knew someone, and then you find out they did something you never thought they would do, what would you do?"

"...I take it you found out about Bruce's little double date with those European models," Rachel replied dryly.

I snapped my head up, and looked at her.

"Wait," I said. "How did you--"

"I was there that night," Rachel replied. "I was having dinner with my boss, and I saw him walking out with his suit all wet. He and I stopped and talked, we even talked about how you were..."

"Me?"

"Well, since I couldn't come to the funeral, and I found out you were with him, I wanted to know how you were coping without your parents. I mean, after Bruce's parents died, he changed even more since the bat incident,"

"Oh...Well, what did he say?"

"He said, that you were doing fine, that you were just now talking after about a week's silence, and how much you looked liked your mother...Well, except your hair is blonde, and hers was brunette,"

I smiled a bit.

"What did you tell him?" I asked.

Rachel's smile turned into a frown. There was a long silence, and I thought an hour had passed when she spoke again.

"I want you to know that I was really disappointed in him," she explained to me. "He told me that all of those things, the fancy cars, the double dates, buying hotels, jumping into small swimming pools, wasn't him. He tried to explain to me that he was much more inside,"

"Isn't he?" I asked.

I knew Bruce. It wasn't like him to do that. I could tell he didn't care about that stuff when I first met him. That's why I liked him so much. Because he wasn't like the rest of the Fancy World of Gotham. I really did think he was more. But Rachel made me change my mind.

"Sarah," she said taking my hand. "It's not who you are underneath. It's what you do that defines you,"

Those words rang in my head for a while, as Rachel went to go to her room to go to bed, and leaving me on my own, hugging my chest to my knees. I thought about what she said...she was right. It is what you do that defines you. I turned off the light and liad my head on my pillow. But somehow, I couldn't sleep. My head with thoughts and questions that were still unanswered after all this time. When my mind thought of my parents killer coming after me, I feared I would have a nightmare, and wake up screaming in the middle of the night.I slipped my hand under my pillow, and took out the batarang I hid from Rachel, and looked at it. It suddenly calmed me, and I realized I wanted the metallic bat to stay with me through the night. I took out a flashlight I had with me, set the metallic thing upright, and set the flashlight in front of it. After I had done so, I immedietly fell asleep, the shadow of the bat watching over me through the night as I slept.

(A/N: Hey, to make up for not updating sooner, I made a really long chapter. Tell me what you guys thought. What you want to see next. Did you like Sarah's little Batman stunt against Josh? What's the part you're most anticipating?...Yeah, I'm gonna stop asking the questions, and work on the draft for the next chapter. It's gonna be a doozy)


	12. The Scarecrow Incident

DIsclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

Bruce slowly opened his eyes from a long sleep, and just laid there on hid bed for a few moments, while he recollected the things which happened after he had brought his goddaughter home, safe and sound. He remembered going to the dark Narrows in the hard, cold rain...Discovering the rabbits in an old abandoned apartment...Men came inside, so he hid in the shadows, concealing himself completly from the enemies of Gotham. But one of the men gave him the element of surprise when he took action. He wore a mask made of a material that was similar to what you hold sunflower seeds or potatos. But it had a face that struck at the heart of men with fear. It had even struck the dark heart of Batman, the masked man who had an unquenchable thirst for justice. But when he was struck with this sort of gas, it made the things which frightened him the most come to life: Bats. He called Alfred in the dead of night and the rest he could barely remember...other than a dream of a frightened little girl who was trying to comfort him. The effects which took hold on his mentality were odd but familiar to him. He tried to remember where and when he felt them, but his thoughts were broken when he heard the clatter of a spoon in a glass. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alfred at his bedside stirring some sort of substance in a glass of water. The curtains at his window were drawn wide open, the morning sun glaring in his face.

"How long was I out?" he asked in a tired voice.

"Two days," Alfred replied. "It's your birthday...Many happy returns,"

Slwoly sitting up a bit. Bruce took thr glass and sipped it, the liquid sending a cool sensation running down his throat.

"I've felt these effects before," he explained. "But this was so much more potent. It was some kind of hallucinogen, weaponized in aerosal form,"

"You have been hanging out in the wrong clubs Mr. Wayne," Lucius Fox stepped out of the shadows of Bruce's room.

Bruce stopped in mid sip, and almost spat out his drink. He did not realize his co-worker from Wayne Enterprises was standing rightt there. He looked at Alfred, who was sitting calmly in his seat.

"I called Mr. Fox when your condition worsened after the first day," he explained.

"I analyzed your blood," Fox stated. "Isolating the receptor compounds and the protein based catalyst,"

"Am I meant to understand any of that?" Bruce was confused.

"Not at all. I just wanted you to know how hard it was. Bottom line, I synthesized an antidote,"

Bruce's eyes widenend. If that Scarecrow guy was still using that gas that put him out for two days, then the citizens of Gotham could be in danger.

"Could you make more?" he asked, anticipating an answer.

"You planning on gassing yourself again, Mr. Wayne?" asked Fox dryly.

Bruce grinned.

"Well," he said. "You know how it is, Mr. Fox. You're out at night, looking for kicks, someone's passing arounf the weaponized hallucinogens..."

"I'll bring what I have," Fox smiled. "The antidote should inoculate you for now," He turned to leave. "Alfred, always a pleasure,"

"Lucius," Alfred returned.

Bruce thought for a bit as Alfred put away the dishes that were on his nightstand.

"How's Sarah doing?" he asked. "Did she say anything before she left for school?"

When Alfred was hesitant before answering his master's question, Bruce began to worry.

"Not that I know of sir," he replied softly. "I've sent her to stay with Miss Dawes until you were well enough...you gave her quite a fright,"

Bruce slowly got out of his bed, and put on his robe.

"It was me she scared," he explained. "I was worried about her after..."

"After Batman promised to give her information on the death of her parents?" Alfred interuppted.

Bruce stopped in his tracks as Alfred pulled something out of his pocket. It was a slip of paper folded in half twice.

"I found this on her window," he said.

Alfred gave the note to his master and her read it to himself.

Batman-

I'm not here. I'm staying at Rachel Dawes apartment. Sh's an Assistant D.A. You'll know where to find her. I trust you. Again, thanks for everything. I know you probably didn't hear it after last night.

Sarah Chante

In fact, Bruce did hear the young girl say her thanks to the Dark Knight. It was quiet, but he could still hear it. He sighed.

"She lost control," he explained softly. "I mean, I tried to calm her down, but she kept fighting me. She said she wouldn't stop until she found out what happened to Luke and Jennifer...When I was younger than her, I would've done the same thing if I was in her position...Did I do anything to her?"

"...When your condition worsened, I sent her in here to keep you company while I made some calls...The next thing I know, she's screaming my name, and I find her struggling to get your grip off her in your delusional state,"

Bruce ran a hand through his hair, when he realized that wasn't a dream. It was real.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"I don't know," Alfred started. "That night, I suppose, everything fell apart for her. First a news announcement saying she'll be appearing at tonight's event as the Princess of Gotham--"

"What?"

"--Lies told about her in a popular teen magazine, and if things hadn't gone any worse, the police came to the school...The man who killed her parents is out there looking for her,"

* * *

When school came to an end, I collected my stuff as slow as possible. It was a tiring day, and most of the gossip around school orbited only one issue: Bruce Wayne's Birthday Party, and apparently my debut as the Princess of Gotham. All the kids this morning were practically clawing their way out of the school crowds, just for a chance to say "Hi" to me. Like yesterday, Ally and Nathan acted as my bodyguards, and got me safely to my classes and lunch. Needless to say, after yesterday's little lunch squabble, Haley Kingston kept shooting glares at me, so we ate outside. The fact that I wanted to sit with Ally rather than her infuriated so much, her face turned bright red, and stayed that way through the day. I thought I would have to face her and Josh now, but something happened. Josh started acting...well, nicer than he was before. Like after lunch, Ally and I were playing with the jump rpe with Nathan in the middle. Josh had come up, and made him trip. Nathan scraped his knee pretty badly and was about to cry (with Josh laughing in the background), Ally said:

"Hey, isn't that a bat in that dark, **dark** corner?"

Josh had immedietly stopped laughing and said he was sorry while looking wearily about him. I guess after that little encounter with me, or should I say "Batman", scared him mentally.Before he left, he looked around, came up to me, and said to me, mummbling:

"Congratulations about the whole princess thing,"

I was surprised to notice he actually meant it and said "Thank you". He ever said:

"You're welcome...Sarah"

Even though he said those things to me, I figured he only said them because of his newfound fear of Batman. I don't blame him. I was afraid of hom to when I met him...I'm scared now. He didn't come last night. I knew because he would've taken the batarang back. And it was still there when I woke up drenched in my own sweat from a horrifying nightmare. I dreamt I was in an ally and my parents were beside me...At first, I was happy, but I heard two gunshots and the next thing I knew, my parents are lying on the ground, their heads bleeding, and their faces paling. I thought I would burst into fits of tears, if I hadn't heard the cock of a gun. Whipping my head around, I sawthe barrel of a gun right between my eyes...Before I could even scream, the trigger was pulled, and I woke up before the sun. I was silent that morning, and Rachel thought I was sick and suggested I should go back to the manor to get some rest before the party. But I declined it quickly. I didn't want anyone to worry about me. Not right now. I put on my jacket as I walked out into the breezy fall afternoon. I was going back to the Wayne Manor. Duringclass, I recieved a note from Alfred saying Bruce was all right, and I could come back after school on the bud. But I didn't want to go back. Not right now, anyway. That dream bothered me so much, it was one of the things I thought about all day...Batman wouldn't help. Bruce had other things to worry about. Rachel will put in as much effort as the police. And my relatives would care less about what happens to me...When I got the chance, I was going to Arkham Asylum, the second I stepped foot out of Gotham City Private.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Alfred asked.

Rachel smiled. She was just swinging by the Wayne Manor to drop off something before taking care of something important.

"I have to get back," she explained. "I just wanted to leave this,"

"Thank you," Alfred took the small box from Rachel's hands.

"Rachel?" Bruce's voice sounded.

Rachel was about to turn and go, but she stopped and smiled when she saw her childhood friend walking up to the front door. Hewas still in his pajamas and all wrapped up in his fathers robe. When he passed Alfred, he was handed the small box that was apparently his birthday present from Rachel.

"Looks like someone's been burning the candle at both ends," she commented. "Must've been quite an occasion,"

"It is my birthday," Bruce grinned.

"I know. I'm sorry I can't come tonight. I was just dropping off your present,"

"You've got better plans?" Bruce was a bit disappointed.

"...My boss has been missing for two days. Which in this town means that I should start looking at the bottom of a river...Is Sarah home?"

Bruce shrugged.

"Things have been crazy since noon," he explained. "I figured she--"

"You have no idea where she is, do you?"

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"The school called and told me that she didn't get on the bus this afternoon. That was an hour ago. I thought that the Farris's came and got her, but they don't know where she is,"

"Did you try the Masons?"

"...Bruce, you know full well she wouldn't go to her relatives...I can't believe this. If Jennifer were alive, she'd be furious with you. You haven't noticed your goddaughter walking through the door or not. Congrautlations Bruce Wayne, you're a wonderful godfather,"

"Didn't you call the police?"

"The last thing Sarah needs is every cop in Gotham looking for her. She's had enough publicity,"

"Rachel--"

"Bruce you're ruining her life! Because of you, she's being called the Princess of Gotham, of which I know she doesn' like, everyone thinks she should've been put in the psych ward because she supposedly lost it when she heard about her parents, and she's under the impression that you don't want her around. And now, she's on the target of her parents killer. There's no telling where she might be!"

When Bruce heard all this, he was surprised about how calm and quiet Rachel Dawes scolded him. He had never seen her like this...well, except for that time with the murder of Joe Chill. But who could blame her though? He had disappeared for seven years, and just now had shown up, shortly after Luke and Jennifer's murder.

"Rachel," he started. "I had nothing to do with the Princess of Gotham problem. I was out of town when this happened,"

"I don't think--" Rachel began.

Rachel's phone started to ring inher coat pocket. As if she wasn't already ticked off, she calmly excused herself from scolding Bruce and answered it, while Bruce tried to listen discreetly to her phone conversation.

"Rachel Dawes...Who authorized that? Get Crane down there right now. Do NOT take 'no' for an answer. Call Dr. Leeman. Tell him we'll need our own assesment on the Judge's desk by morning,"

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked as she hung up.

"It's Falcone. Dr.Crane moved him to Arkham Asylum on Suicide Watch,"

"You're going to Arkham now? It's in the Narrows Rachel,"

Rachel looked up from putting her ceel phone in her bag.

"You enjoy your party Bruce," she said. "Some of us have work to do. And since Sarah's not with anyone else, I'm gonna look for her there while I'm at Arkham. If I don't find her, then I'll call the police,"

"Why do you think she'll be there?"

"...Bruce, that's where her parents died. And if she's anything like her parents, she'll take the initiative and investigate,"

"You be careful,"

"...Happy Birthday,"

And so Rachel went back down the steps of the Wayne Manor as Bruce looked at the small blue box in his hand. Quietly opening it, he read the card first.

"Finders Keepers"

Underneath the card, there was an arrowhead neatly packer inside. Bruce smiled. It was the arrowhead he gave to Rachel when they were kids. Looking up, he saw Rachel's car pull out of the driveway. No time to go further down memory lane. If Rachel and Sarah were at Arkham, he had to hurry like there was no tomorrow. With Alfred behind him, Bruce made his way to the parlor.

"But Master Wayne," Alfred protested. "The guests will be arriving,"

"Keep them happy until I arrive," Bruce ordered. "Tell them that joke you know,"

Bruce did the same old routine he had done when he suited up for a night. Playing three notes on the piano with two of his fingers, the secret door in the bookcase opened, and he quickly went in. Going down the steps to the metal elevato, he pulled the lever, and he once again felt the wind rush past him as he went down into the dark, humid caverns. When he reached the floor, he rushed to the amoire that was just yards away. Pulling open the hand carved doors, he found himself facing the cowl of the Batman, the empty eyes glaring at him as if saying:

"Time is running out. We have work to do,"

* * *

"OK. Stay calm. Don't panic," I told myself to calm down. "Just because you're going to Arkham Asylum doesn't mean you have to have a panic episode,"

I could not believe I was walking down the cracked and spray painted sidewalks to the front of Arkham Asylum. When I lived in the Narrows, I would hear stories from other kids about how poorly it was run, and how "a nut ran the nut house". Horror stories about how people went in and never came out. Now, I never believed in stories lik those. But when you live just a couple of blocks away, and hear screaming and moaning that could be heard all the way to Wayne Enterprises, it kind of helps to rely on something to help you get to go to sleep at night. I shifted my backpack over my shoulder as I went up the steps. I changed into more comfortable clothes (as in jeans, tennis shoes, a white shirt, and a blue sweat jacket) so that I wouldn't ruin my uniform. All my stuff including the batarang I found, fit into my backpack. When I reached the front door, it had a sign:

"**USE SIDE ENTRANCE. FRONT HALLWAY UNDER CURRENT RENOVATION**"

I stood frozen on the spot, and eyed the alley I was supposed to get into wearily...That was the alley my parents were killed in. I walked slowly down the darkening way as the sun went down, setting for the night. To know someone died there was positively chilling. But to know someone you loved very much was killed there, it was too much. I was stepping on the ground where my parents laid for hours a whole night perhaps...The memories of my nightmare came rushing back to me. I couldn't stay there much longer. Quickly going to the door, I caught my breath before I went in. The stories I've been told hardly did any justice for the facility...or so I though at first. I'll tell you later. Anyway, as I walked to the front desk, nurses and men in white coats (I don't know what their real occupation name is. I just go by what I hear) passed me busily. When I got up to the front desk, the nurse sitting behind it was reading a Gotham Tabloid with the words:

"**BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER OR MASKED MENACE? MASON BOY TELLS ALL**!"

I realized Josh told my little Batman stunt to the tabloids. Good thing he didn't know it was really me. I coughed in my throat to get some attention, and the nurse looked up.

"May I help you?" she asked putting away the tabloid.

"Yes," I nodded. "I need to speak to a Dr. Jonathon Crane. It's kind of important. It's about the murder that happened a couple of weeks ago,"

The nurse sized me with her eyes.

"You're took young to be a cop," she said dryly.

"But I'm the daughter of the victims," I explained softly. "Please, this is very important to me,'

There was a bit of silence, until the nurse sighed, got up, and gestured me to follow her. So I did. I followed her down the hallway to an office door. The name "**DR. JONATHON CRANE--PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY**" was almost fading away on the glass window. The nurse told me he'd be with me in a few minutes. I sat down in the front of the desk and looked around. The office walls were bare except for a few PhD's from Gotham University framed and hung up on wire hangings. His desk was neat and tidy. Judging from all this, I figured Jonathon Crane was a kept man. But while I looked around, I noticed something on the floor. Something strange, and out of place. Setting my backpack on my chair, I lowered myself to the ground and took the strange material in my hands. It was some sort of sack, like something you hold potatos in or something. Turning it over I saw that it had a face. A mouth was sewn with black thread that felt smooth but rough as I ran my fingers along it. Two holes played the part of the eyes, and they stared at me with uneasy silence. I thought I felt something underneath it and was about to look under it, until...

"Interesting, isn't it?" I heard a calm, cool voice.

Dropping the strange mask to the floor, I gasped in fright to find Dr. Jonathon Crane. He was the type that would make girls swoon. Tall, dark, and somewhat handsome. And yet there was something about him that made me want to run out the door. He extended a hand toward the mask, and I handed it to him, never taking my eyes off it.

"It is intteresting," I agreed softly. "How did you come across it?"

Jonathon Crane merely gave me a warm but chilling smile as he stuffed the mask in his coat pocket. Gesturing for me to have a seat, I did so as he continued to talk.

"I came across it by taking it away from one of our patients," he said as he sat at his desk.

"But don't you usually lock the items up?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. But I found this to be quite peculier, I decided to keep it,"

Something in my gut told me he was lying as he looked at me through his non-framed rectangular glasses. He took out the mask once more and put it on the desk, showng me the face.

"Tell me," he said. "What does it look like to you?"

I studied the potato sack face. It just sat there on the desk looking at me. I stared at it, pondering what it looked like. It seemed to look at me as if it knew me. The mask knew my dislikes, what I liked, where I lived, who my friends were...what I feared. Now, I didn't know what I was really scared of, because I was scared of almost everything...But that mask...With those empty eyes staring at me and my soul...It knew what I was afraid of to the bottom of my heart. And the scary part was it knew what I was araid of. Not me.

"It looks like a scarecrow," I said and image popping in my head.

To this, Crane nodded slowly as he put the mask back in his coat pocket.

"Very good," he said to me. "...So you're the daughter of the murder victims,"

"Yes," I nodded once. "I was wondering if you had any video footage from the east side alley, or if--"

"I'm sorry," Crane interuppted. "We don't have any camera on that alley,"

I just sat there, dumbfounded. Not only did he interupp me, but he just told me there was no way I could find out who killed my parents that night. I looked down a bit.

"Oh," I said getting my backpack. "Well...thank you for your time. I'm sorry to have bothered you,"

I stood up to go to the door. It was a mistake to come here. I didn't know how big a mistake it would be in a few minutes though. As I neared the door, I heard Crane speak.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of assistance," he said cooly. "...It must drive you insaneto not know who killed your parents,"

Stopping, with my hand on the doorknob, I thought for a second. In truth, it did drive me insane not knowing what happened. But it wasn't enough to have a mental effect on me. However, the way Crane said it, it sent a chilling sensation up my spine. Quickly, I went out the door with fast footsteps. A knot twisted in my stomach as images of my parents filled my head as I walked slowly down the spacious hallway.

(A/N: I don't own "You Found Me" by Kelly Clarkson)

_Is this a dream? If it is, please don't wake me from this high. I've become comfortably numb, until you opened up my eyes_

A lump filled my throat as I moved into an empty elevator. I didn't press a floor button, but I pressed my back to them. I felt the elevator go down, taking me away from the problem I was now facing

_Do what is right when everything's right. I can't believe_...

The door opened, and I brusted out running. I wanted to run away. I wanted to cry. No. I couldn't cry. I wouldn't. I can't afford to cry anymore. _Don't cry Sarah. Don't cry You're not helpless_ I told myself

_You found me when no one else was looking. How did you know just where I would be? You broke through all of my confusion. The ups and the downs and you still didn't leave. I guess I just thought when nobody could see, you found me_

I continued running down the hall. I should be running outside, or calling someone to come pick me up. But I couldn't stop running, and I wouldn't call anybody. This was my problem, and I was going to fix it myself. Barely noticing the bare grey walls in Arkham's basement, I continuned running with all my might or at least with all the energy my legs could muster. My breaths were short and quick, and there were even a few sobs that I couldn't supress. My legs grew weak, and without even realizing it, I collapsed to the ground on my knees. Laying my back against the wall, I caught my breath, and closed my eyes for a bit. Now where am I gonna find the man who killed my parents? Arkham Asylum was the only place where I would get valuable information. I reached into my backpack and took out the batarang. Playing with it a bit, I almost thought of nothing else. It was like that for a while. It was so long, that I almost fell asleep, until I heard a loud ringing noise that echoed through the basement. Jerking my head out of my thoughts, I put the batarang in my back pocket, snatched my backpack, and ran to find a way out. I had to get out of there, now that the alarm went off. The first door I saw, I opened and ran into a spacious room with catwalks and people in orange jumpsuits filing out of the room. They were a floor below me, and I stood there watching. When I looked closer, I saw that they were mixing chemicals, due to the fact that they were wearing white masks over their mouths. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man pour some liquid out of a metal barrel in a big hole in the floor. When I looked closer, I saw it was the water mains. They were poisoning Gotham's water supply! Now would be a good time to call the authorities. I rushed to the door to get out of here, but the door wouldn't open. It was locked from the inside. But that didn't stop me, so I slipped my backpack off my shoulder, and pulled on the doorknob with all my might, but with no success. Soon, my fingers slipped and I fell backward. Falling to the floor backwards, my right leg collided with rolled up barbwire (that was used for bordering Arkham Asylum's fences) that was hiding itself in a dark corner. The sharp barbs went through my pants and into my leg. It took all the energy I could take to not scream. I didn't want anyone to know I was here, then I would be in more trouble than I already was in. Quickly forming a plan to try and get out, I saw some people come in the room after it had been cleared out. Lying flat on my back, I watched carefully.One man had on the scarecrow mask I saw on Dr. Crane's floor earlier...Dr. Crane...The mask belonged to him! OK, **now** I believe in horror stories about Arkham Asylum. Digging into my back pocket, my plan to escape (with a wounded leg) popping in my mind, I took out the batarang. The edges had to be sharp enough to cut the barbwire wrapped around my leg. Immedietly I sat up slowly, since it hurts to move now, and began sawing away the barbwire. It wasn't working, needless to say. But I tried to free myself as best as I could, until I saw two men carrying in someone. It was a woman, who was barely consious of anything at the momet. I let out a silent gasp as I realized who it was as they set her down on a couple of wooden boxes.

"Rachel," I said to myself in a low whisper.

It was Rachel Dawes. What was she doing here? Was she looking for me? If she did, how did she know she'd find me in Arkham Asylum? I didn't have time to question myself. Rachel was in trouble, and I bet it had something to do with Crane. I continued to try and saw the wires off around my leg. Pain seared through me each time I moved just a tiny bit. Blood from my leg stained my jeans with dark red spots forming around where the barbs stuck. I heard Crane in his meancing Scarecrow voice inside his mask speak to Rachel, who seemed to be worried about something else.

"Who knows you're here?" seethed Crane

Rachel moved her head from side to side. Taking frightened breaths, she closed her eyes, trying to block the image that was apparently in her head...She was right. All grown-ups get scared just like children.

"WHO _**KNOWS**_?" shouted Crane.

Rachel screamed, and covered her eyes. I didn't, but I jumped so much it hurt me, and made the batarang slip from my fingers. It fell through the catwalk, and painfully, I quickly lowered myself to the ground, in the hopes that no one would find me. When I should've heard a clatter, I heard a loud noise from the floor above me. I hid myself in my warm, dark hiding place as best as I could as Crane and his men looked around. Crane took off his Scarecrow mask, and ran his fingers through his hair as helet out a breath of a chuckle.

"He's here," he announced.

"Who?" asked one of the men.

"...The Batman,"

I looked around vigorously as the men cocked their machine guns. He was here. The Batman was here! Letting out a sigh of relief, I rested my head against the floor. But...wait a minute...did he know that I was here?

"What do we do?" asked one of the jumpy henchmen.

"What anyone does when a prowler comes around," Crane answered as he searched for the Dark Knight. "...call the police,"

Great. More trouble. And not only that but if I lived through this, I would be all over the front page of the Gotham Tribune. With Batman right next to me. Now what am I gonna do? Just wait here until I'm dying from the pain my leg?

"You want the cops here?" asked one of the men as I tried to get the coiled barb wire off my leg.

"At this point they can't stop us," I heard Crane. "But the Batman has a talent for disruption. Force him outside. The police will take him down. Go,"

"What about her?"

One of the men referred to Rachel, of whom I knew was barely hanging on. Come on Batman. Save us. Help us. Get us out of here.

"She hasn't got long," Crane explained. "I gave her a concetrated dose. The mind can only take so much,"

Concetrated dose of what? What did Crane give her? Was that making her seeing things? What did he meant by "The mind can only take so much"? I bet Batman was pretty mad by now. I just hope he'd come out soon and get me out of here.

"The things they say about him," said one man. "Can he really fly?"

Yes.

"I heard he can disappear," said another.

You heard right, mister

"Well," Crane said. "We'll find out. Won't we?"

I sat up a bit more, and tried to get the barbwire off some more. That is until I started feeling a bit lightheaded, and hot. I was sitting in a dark warm place and I was wearing a jacket. I couldn't take it off, because if I moved I would get more pain in my leg. My eyes were drooping from being tired. I was slumping backwards, until I felt two arms catch me from underneath.

"Don't move your leg," I heard a raspy voice.

"Batman?" I tried to open my eyes as he sat me up against the wall.

"Shhh,"

I felt him move toward my leg. Pan was still rushing through me like a hot knofe. Feeling the Batman's gloved hands, I felt him gingerly remove the barbs from my leg. But before I could even feel the first one, drowsiness seemed to watch over me like a wave. I guess I passed out for a little bit, because the next thing I knew, I felt myself in Batman's arms as he set me down on the floor, placing my head on myjacket he had made a makeshift pillow out of.

"Mmm," I moaned a little bit as I sat up. "My leg. It hurts,"

"Stay still," Batman pushed me gently back down on the floor.

"Rachel..."

"Rest. I'll be back,"

With a sharp swish of his cape, Batman left me lying on the ground on my back. My head rested against my folded jacket, my heated head cooling against it. I was grateful that Batman was always there, hiding in the shadows with eyes like the moonlight, and glowering in the darkness watching every move before him. No one knew that he protected us from physical harm. I suppose, I was one of the very few people who knew this...But one thing he can't save us if from our minds. Let me tell you guys something. People fear things that are different from them. I was afraid to meet Bruce or Alfred because I thought htey were like the rest of the Fancy World of Gotham. I was afraid that Batman was someone cold-blooded...I guess I was wrong. I only thought those things because of my relatives who mentally abused me...And that is why Batman can't save me. I'll always be hurt. Anyway, I'm lying there and I take in my surroundings. The banisters were covered in clear plastice. As far as I could tell, this was the renovated entrance. Every now and then, I would feel stings of pain, and I would suck in my breath through my teeth, my eyes closed tightly. Every bit of strength inside me told me not to scream, and that I would get help soon. My thoughts were soon broken as I heard wils of police sirens outside the walls of the Asylum.

"Batman," I heard a policeman on the megaphone as I gasped. "Put down your weapons and surrender. You're surrounded!"

This was it. Batman would be put in jail, I would shame Bruce for being here, and worst of all, I would be taken away from the Wayne Manor by my uncle. And all of this would be my fault. I wouldn't let that happen. I don't care if anyone will think I'm a coward. I already know that. Sitting up painfully, I started pushing myself backwards into a dark corner. I won't let myself be found. But before I could even move another foot, two arms engulfed around my stomach from behind, and a hand covered my mouth as I let out a muffled scream.

"I told you not to move," Batman's raspy voice growled in my ear.

Looking as Batman turned me around, I saw Rachel lying on the ground next to me, eyes wide opened.

"Rachel?" I asked as if she could hear me. "What happened? What's wrong with her? What did Crane give her?"

"A toxin," Batman said as he got my jacket. "Where did you fall on the barbwire?"

"My right leg,"

Pushing my pants up to my knee, I noticed tiny red hold of blood where the barbwire had coiled around my leg like a snake. Batman wrapped my jacket around it, using it as a temporary bandage.

"You have to turn me into the police," I winced, giving up on my previous plan as he put pressure on my leg. "My leg could be infected,"

"No," Batman said. "You stay with me. I have all the medicine you need. You are not to leave my sight, and you are not to leave this spot. Understand?"

I nodded furiously. He said it so harshly, it scared me. He turned his back toward me, jumping on the banister, looking down from the great hight, as I kept Rachel company. She just laid there, with eyes wide open, staring at nothing in particular. A lump filled my throat. This was all my fault. If I hadn't come here, Rachel wouldn't have come to look for me, and none of this would've happened.

"Is she going to die?" I blurted out softly.

Batman didn't answer.

"Batman?"

Still noanswer...Oh my gosh, she is going to die. I looked at Rachel, who seemed to not know what was happening. Lucky her. What I saw in the last 30 minutes would haunt me for quite a while. I tightly closed my eyes. This can't be happening. This cannot be happening. Rachel can't die. She can't. Batman wouldn't allow it. I know. As I sat there with lumps growing inside my throat that would make any sound I make inaudible to anyone, I heard a woosh of wings behind me. Batman had jumped from the banister down past the many floors below us. I didn't have to look behind to know this. But when I heard him come back, I heard a voice I had not expected to hear.

"Sarah?" I heard.

I turned around to find Sergeant Jim Gordon by Batman's side. As Batman knelt beside me to check on Rachel, Jim put both his hands on my shoulders as be bent down in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"Jim, I'm sorry," I said as tears welled up in my eyes. "I had to come here. I thought I could find out who he is. I didn't mean for Rachel to get hurt. I swear!"

Jim wiped my tears away with his thumbs as Batman wrapped an arm around me. It was comforting, so I held onto his wrist with my hands.

"It's all right," Jim reassured me as he moved toward Rachel. "What's happened to her?"

"Crane poisoned her with a psychotropic hallucenigion," Batman replied. "A panic inducing toxin,"

So that's what Crane did to her. He poisoned her. Jim went for his walkie-talkie.

"Let me get her down to the medics," he said.

"They can't help her," Batman explained. "...But I can,"

Jim and I looked at Batman with confusing looks. He can actually cure Rachel? How? I was about to ask when all of a sudden, the lights came on. I gasped. The police were coming in.

"Oh no," I whispered. "They're coming,"

"Get her downstairs," Batman told Gordon. "Meet me in the alley on the Narrows side. Sarah stays with me,"

"Why?" Gordon whispered.

"You have to get Miss Dawes downstairs. Sarah has a wounded leg, and she can't walk on it until I get her some help,"

"What about Crane?" I just now remembered.

"...He got a taste of his own medicine," Batman turned to Gordon. "Crane's been smuggling his toxin hidden inside Falcone's drugs, and they're dumping it in the water supply,"

So that's what they put in there. Crane and Falcone were going to make the whole city of Gotham crazy! Jim looked horrified

"Wh-What was he planning?" he asked.

"I don't know," Batman replied.

"Was he working for Falcone?"

"...He mentioned someone else. Someone worse,"

Worse? Who could possible be worse than Crane and Falcone? Batman started helping Gordon with Rachel.

"I neeed to get her the antidote before the damage becomes permanent," he said putting Rachel in Gordon's arms.

"How long does she have?" Gordon asked, getting ready.

"Not long,"

I was trembling now. Not only that Rachel might die, but we only had a limited time to save her. I couldn't stop shaking, so Batman held me tighter.

"Hang on to me as tight as you can," he whispered.

Even though I was still shaking, I felt more calmer now. I didn't know why. I wrapped my arms around his stiff neck, burying my face in his shoulder as I heard a faint chorus of squeaks and flutters in the distance.

"What is that?" I heard Gordon.

"...Back-up," Batman replied.

The next thing I know, I heard screaming and yelling from various policemen, which was Gordon's cue to leave with Rachel. I kept my eyes closed, as if to try and block the screaming that filled my ears.

"Make them stop," I whispered. "Make them stop,"

"I can't," Batman said. "I'm not the one who's making them scream,"

"Then what is?"

"...Bats,"

I couldn't help but whimper a bit. This was not going well for me. First, I find out I can't find who killed my parents, my leg now hurts like it's burning, and Rachel's dying because of my need to find justice in my parent's deaths. And now the asylum is filled with bats that were out of their natural habitat.

"...I won't let them hurt you," Batman said in my ear. "They only attack when they're threatened...Count backwards from five,"

"...Five..."

Why was he asking me to count backwards?...He's not telling me something. Otherwise, we wouldn't be sitting here listening to policemen scream because bats are everywhere.

"...Four..."

I felt him raise his arm...

"...Three..."

He's breathing heavily as if he's anxious...He's Batman! He can't be scared...Can he?

"...Two..."

He throws something into the air. I don't know what it was. But when he raised his arm, I heard a whirring sound next to my ear. He wraps his arms tightly around me. I'm afraid now.

"...I..."

I feel myself falling, wrapped up in Batman's black cape, safe in his arms. I don't know how long we were falling, but it felt like a long time. I didn't scream though. I just held on tighter to the Dark Knight, who was my protector. I just kept my eyes shut hoping that nothing would hurt me. We finally landed, and I could hear the increased volume of the bats fluttering their wings and squeaks. Shifting me up in his arms, I held on as Batman raced as hard as he could to get to our destination. He ran so fast, I thought we were flying. I guess that would happen once you get used to flying. Still I kept my eyes closed. I didn't want to see the bats. This wasn't like the one in Wayne Manor. There were millions of them! Anyway, after a long time of running, I felt the cool air outside. We were out of the asylum. Finally! I felt him set me down in a comfortable seat that I would sink into.

"You can open your eyes," Batman said as I opened them. "You're safe,"

I took in my surroundings.I was in the backseat of some sort of...car. As black and as dark as the Batman. As he checked on my leg, which still hurt, I buckled up.

"It still hurts," I explained. "But not so much as before,"

"Try not to move it," Batman ordered.

"...Batman..."

I pointed behind the Caped Crusader. Gordon had just come into the alley, with a limp Rachel in his arms. Leaving me by myself, Batman rushed toward the cop, and the Assistant D.A. I couldn't tell what they were saying to each other, but I could tell they were trying to hurry...I hope Rachel's still okay. Gordon transported Rachel into Batman's arms, and he ran with her back to the car, setting her in the front seat. He jumped onto his side, and lowered the seats down,as the roof slid over us to the front. It was almost pitch black, but i had other problem's that worried me. I started hearing the sirens.

"What about the police?" I asked as the car started.

"...Hold onto something..." Batman replied.

I wanted to ask why, but the next thing I knew, the rush of the car going over 80 mph sent an impact on me. It sent me back in my seat, and I held on tight to it. I looked through the front window, and saw a police car stationed in a street corner. Do you know what Batman did? He ran right over the front of it. This wasn't a car. This was a tank!

"You're trying to outrun the police!" I cried. "You can't do that!"

"You can if someone's life is at stake," Batman protested, his eyes fixed on the road.

...OK, I admit he got me there. After all, the police are after for the wrong reasons. Plus, he seemed to know about my Princess of Gotham problem. One wrong move, and the paprazzi would have a field day, and Bruce would surely be disappointed. Suddenly, I heard a faint moan, and from my view from the back seat, Rachel was waking up. I reached forward, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Rachel," I started. "Are you okay?"

Rachel looked back, and her eyes went wide when she saw me.

"Sarah!" she exclaimed. "Where have you been? The school called, and you're not at the bus stop. You're not at the Farris's..."

"Rachel, I think we have bigger problems,"

"She's right," Batman said before Rachel could say anything. "Stay calm. You've been poisoned,"

I didn't exactly see how she could stay calm when she's poisoned. Must be for health reasons or something. I'll have to read about it sometime later...that is if I live through this. Batman continued to drive recklessly around the streets of Gotham, with the police chasing after us. I grew a little nervous that they might catch up to us, but after that sharp right turn and hearing the tires behind us screech when they lost track of us momentarilly, I felt a bit better. Although, Rachel wasn't so good. The jolt made her gasp in fright.

"Breathe slowly," Batman advised

Part of me wished that I got nfected with what Rachel had, just so I could go through this with her, and to know what she was seeing. Just so she wouldn't be alone.

"Hold on," Batman said as we made a very hard left turn.

I braced myself as we turned into a parking garage. The spiraled road made me dizzy as we swerved up to the top. Then I realized something. This was a one way road up to the top, and the cops would be blocking our only way out.

"What are you doing?" Rachel noticed it too.

"Shortcut," Batman replied.

"Shortcut?" I found myself protesting. "There's no other way out! Are you blind?"

By now, I was really ticked off. The car came to a halt, while cops made a semi-circle around us in their cars. I let out a frustrated sigh. There was only one way to get out of this. I started unbuckling myself.

"Let me out," I said in a hurry.

Batman turned around in his seat and grabbed my wrists. I struggled to get them out of his tight grip.

"Let go!" I shouted.

"You listen to me," Batman growled. "You go out there, your whole life will go into a bigger mess. You don't want to go live with your uncle because of all this, do you?"

My eyes looked at nothing but him. How did he know about my problem with my gaurdianships? I just stared at him as he loosened his grip from my wrists.

"Do you trust me?" he asked more softly.

I don't know. How could I trust someone who know what I was going through right now? How could I trust someone who seems to know when I'm afraid? And how could I trust someone with eyes that are recognizable to my heart, but not my head?...But if it wasn't for him, I'd be dead. Therefore, I trust him.

"Yes," Was the only word I said to him.

Batman nodded and turned back to face forward. Rachel and I watched in silence and in awe as he ducked under with the steering wheel under the dashboard. I was wondering what he was doing, until I heard a loud BOOM! Jumping in my seat as I fastened my seatbelt, I looked up...no way...he just blew up a 4 1/2 foot wall of concrete making an unusual way for us to escape the police. I looked in the drivers seat. He wasn't coming back up, and thecar started up again on full speed. Rachel and I looked away in nervousness as the car jumped and drove over rooftop. Every bump made the car rattle and shake. Now and again, there was a swerve or two, but we were still flying over rooftops in the strange car. I closed my eyes to maintain my growing queasiness at a very low level. The bumps were making me sick. I breathed slowy. _Soon, all this would be over_ I though to myself as finally got onto a reak road. I'll be home with a fixed leg, I'll be in a nice dress, and I'll make my Princess of Gotham appearance to everyone in the Fancy World of Gotham at Bruce's party...the party...oh no! The party! I totally forgot about it! Through all the explosions behind us, and the occasional bumps and scrapes, I wondereing when this car chase wouls stop. Looking out the small window I had, I noticed we were now taking this show down the highway. Batman had finally come out from under the dashboard. Pressing a few buttons, I saw the headlights grow dim, making it a bit darker. But to my astonishment, the police went past us...Batman did something...

"I--What did you do?" I asked Batman softly.

Instead of answering, Batman put the car on self-mode for a bit and faced Rachel, who was a bit dazed.

"Stay with me," he said.

Rachel looked at Batman. I watched them...They seemed to look at each other as if they knew each other. As if one was telling the other that everything would be fine. But Batman broke this awkward moment, as he turned the car off self mode and focused. First we were going slow...but when we sensed the cops noticing the car hiding in the dark, we put it on full throttle. Batman swerved off the road into a nearby forest that bordered it. He didn't even seem to notice the gate as he ran right through it. Hanging on, I looked at Rachel...No! She was losing consiousness! We were too late!

"No!" I heard myself scream.

"Just hold on," Batman urged.

I was now leaning forward, and trying to shake Rachel awake. She wasn't responding. No! She can't! She can't die! I thought all this as the car went faster towards a waterfall, and Rachel's head lolled to one side, closing her eys.

"RACHEL!" shouted Batman.

Time seemed to slow down. I looked at Batman. His voice wasn't raspy, I thought as the car jumped off a grassy ramp.

His voice was familiar.

(A/N: Review please!)


	13. Just A Man In A Cape

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

Water splashed everywhere on the front of the Batman's tank-like car. The tires ran swiftly over what felt like huge sharp rocks. Each bump made me jump in my seat, but I didn't even seem aware of that. My thoughts had wandered off into dark forests, and wth each step they took, they went deeper and deeper. Batman's voice...it was familiar to me as much as my mother and my father's voice. It wasn't the voice that struck me in the hart with comforting terror, but...it actually sounded human for once. A normal person's voice. I know I should be smart, judging from all the books I've read, but I tried to place Batman's somewhat new voice to the voices I've heard. But I couldn't. There was still a hint of the guttural voice in his throat, as though he knew it changed, but still wanted to keep it a secret. As if to keep his identity a mystery to me. I watched him give Rachel what seemed to be the antidote after quickly moving around the cave for less than 20 seconds. He carried her then to a table not too far away from where I sat in the car. As I unbuckled myself, I looked around the cave. Over my head, bats flew, nested, and squaked everywhere in the dark caverns above me. There were thousands of them, and I had never seen so many at once in my entire life. Not even at the zoo. It hypnotized me to follow just one with my eyes, and when I couldn't follow it I'd find another. I broke out of my trance as the Batman scooped me up into his arms. As I wrapped my arms around his neck, he carried me to a similar table away from Rachel's with a first aid kit on it. Setting me on it, I sat up, as he unwrapped my jacket wrapped around my leg. Blood had made giant pancake sized spots on my light blue sweater as he folded it up and put it beside me. I stayed quiet as he opened the box, and poured some yellow tinted liquid onto a cloth. Pressing it against my wound, I grinded my teeth to not yelp from the stinging pain. I small gasped escaped from my lips.

"It hurts," I muttered under my breath.

"It will keep it from getting infected," Batman said in his half normal voice.

"Ow...It still hurts though,"

"**WELL IT NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HADN'T BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE**!"

My eyes were wide, and I took breaths of fear. He yelled so harshly, and so fiercly, that it scared me more than the time he had yelled at Flass. His light green eyes pierced through mine, and I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. I was locked in his trance, frozen on the spot, just like I had when he saved me at the docks. I gathered enough courage to speak.

"Look," I said. "If you just let me explain--"

"**THAT ASYLUM WAS NO PLACE FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU**!" Batman shouted again. "**YOU COULD'VE BEEN CAUGHT AND KILLED**!"

"I know that. I just wanted--"

"**DO YOU REALIZE HOW WORRIED SICK YOU'VE MADE EVERYONE? DON'T YOU EVEN REMEMBER THAT SOMEONE IS OUT THERE TRYING TO KILL YOU? WHAT YOU'VE DONE WAS RECKLESS AND STUPID! I THOUGHT YOU WERE SMARTER THAN THAT**!"

"...I'm sorry..."

"**SORRY'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU WOULDN'T GO LOOKING FOR YOUR PARENT'S MURDERER, AND YOU BROKE IT! I GAVE YOU MY TRUST, AND YOU BROKE IT**!"

"...I'm not the only one,"

"What?"

"...I said _'I'm not the only one'_,"

The whole cave was silent, it seemed. We just stared at each other. I didn't feel it, but my face was hot, and my expression was angry. I slid off the table, the pain only striking a tiny bit. I barely felt it.

"Let me tell you something," I said in a low angry voice. "When my parents died, my childhood died with them. That killer didn't just take their lives, he took _my_ life. And ever since then, my life has been a walking nightmare. Sure, it's nice to stay with Bruce and Alfred. I mean, at least they know what I'm going through. But it's not good for me to have people look at me strange, even when they know someone close to me have just been murdered. I can't handle being some stupid Princess of Gotham. I can't stand being something I'm not at school. And I can't stand having uncles who criticize me of everything I do and try to run me over with their cars--"

"When did that happen?" asked Batman, suddenly concerned

"The other day, but I'm fine...But you know what else I'm sick of?...I'm sick of waiting around for my parents killer to come out of the shadows and show his face to me...I wasn't the only one who broke a promise. You broke yours first. So don't you **DARE** try to tell me what I've done was wrong. Because I've done more than you ever have for my parents...Because that's what family does. But what do you know about family? You're just a man in a cape. Not a superhero,"

I limped away from him, looking at the dark waterfall, feeling it's mist put moisture onto my skin, cooling me down. I've never stood my ground to anyone before. However, it was wonderful to stand up to some people at least. I felt the Batman gaze at me, although I didn't look back. I was angry, and the first thing on my mind about him was not forgiving him for not holding up his end of the bargain we made. I sat on a rock, with my legs hugged closely to my chest...I miss my parents. I miss them so much. I'm almost forgetting the sound of their voices. And the only way to bring them back is to bring my parents killer to justice. Unconsiously, my hand went to my neck, and I felt around my throat. There was something missing. Something precious to me. But what was it? I thought about it long and hard, but I couldn't remember. My throat closed up to a hard rock, and tears squeezed out of my eyes. I dared not make a sound, although I felt the Batman come toward me slowly, his long black cape flapping behind him. I felt his precense as he bent down next to me.

"...You're right," he said. "I am just a man in a cape...But I'm a man in a cape who wants to bring Gotham back as much as you do. I want to stop men from taking lives as much as you do. I want to help you Sarah. You just have to give it some time, and let me help you. I know it wasn't fair to keep you waiting, but things just came up...Wait...What is it?"

He had now just noticed my tears, and my hand was still on my throat, slowly moving around as if it was searching for something.

"I can't..." I couldn't speak. My throat hurt too much.

"You can't what?" asked Batman

"...Remember,"

"...I know...Once you lose someone, you forget everything that they gave you in order to go through life. And you don't know where the pieces of the puzzles are,"

"...It's like amneisa or something,"

"...It can be restored though,"

I squeezed my eyes shut as tight as possible.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "I know I shouldn't have been there. I know I should've waited...Do you ever have nightmares? Do you ever dream of people who you loved for a long time die before your eyes...and before you're killed too, you wake up in cold sweat?"

"Yes," he replied. "I have...Is that what drove you to go there?"

I nodded, taking in a sharp breath and exhaling out loud to compose myself. Batman left me a bit to go get the bandages for my leg, as my thoughts took over my mind. Things really hadn't been going well for me. I want to go home, and wake up from this nightmare, warm in my bed with the sun rising in my window. Batman came back and started wrapping my leg gently.

"...What happened to your voice?" I asked softly. "...It changed a while ago. It sounds familiar...If I asked, would you tell me who you are?"

"...I can't," Batman said.

"Why? I've trusted you, and you trusted me. I mean, come on, we're like...like...friends. Are we?"

"I don't have the luxury of friends,"

"Oh,"

That was all I could say...I really thought he was my friend. I looked down a bit, and shuddered as the cold wind bit me.

"You all right?" he asked me.

"It's just cold," I sighed.

The next thing I knew, the Batman was right by my side, wrapping his long black cape around my shoulders protectively, as a parent would do to protect their young. Lifting me up in his arms, he carried me to the other side of the cave, and laid me on the table. From his belt he took out two strange looking syringes.

"What are those?" I asked softly.

"The antidote and a sedative," Batman replied. "It's not safe for you to know where I seek my solitude. I'll take you home while you're asleep. Your friend Rachel will be all right for a good hour, and I'll tell her that you're fine. Never tell anyone where you've been tonight. For everyone's safety, you cannot breathe a word to anyone about what you've seen and heard...Do I have your word?"

"Yes," I replied.

Relaxing, I exhaled a deep breath as I felt the syringe go into my arm. The sedative was quickly working its way around my body, and the last thing I saw before drifting off to sleep was Batman looking at me sympathetically and saying:

"Everything will be all right. I promise,"

* * *

Bruce Wayne took off his Batman cowl, and looked at his sleeping goddaughter with a better view. What happened at the Asylum took great courage. Even he was afraid to go in there, even as the Batman. She never realized it, but Sarah had courage she thought was never there. But he knew that if she was poisoned by Crane's toxin in the future, she would have to face her worse unknown fear. After the sedative had taken complete hold of her, he injected her with the antidote that Lucius Fox had made in case of emergencies. It immedietly inoculated her bloodstream, and it would protect her if she was somehow attacked with Crane's toxin. Lifting her up in his arms, he carried her gently to the secret elevator. Pulling the lever with a free hand, it went up slowly, and arrived at the first floor of the Wayne Manor. The secret door opened and it revealed Alfred waiting for his master in the parlor. When his eyes fell upon the girl, he panicked.

"What happened?" he asked. "Is she all right?"

"Shh," Bruce told him. "Keep quiet. The guests might hear you and she might wake up,"

Bruce laid Sarah on the couch, covering her up with a thick blanket.

"Close the door," he ordered. "We don't want anyone coming in here,"

"I assure you sir," Alfred said stifly as he shut the parlor doors. "I wouldn't want any of our guests coming in here if I was still in _a cape and full body armor_. Now I want to know what happened to this child and--"

"Alfred, she's fine. I just gave her a sedative, and inoculated her with the antidote,"

"Well, how long is she going to be asleep?"

"I only gave her a minimum dose, so 20 minutes at the latest. I promise I'll explain everything as soon as I get back,"

"She better know what's going on as soon as possible,"

"...Alfred, Sarah can't know about Batman's identity. It will only make matters worse,"

"Sir--"

"Alfred, she can't. She'll be safer without knowing,"

(A/N: Here you guys go. Hope you enjoyed it. Review please)


	14. The Princess of Gotham

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I felt myself slowly drifting out of sleep, and took in my surroundings. It seemed as if the sedative I was given made me sleep forhours on end instead of the time it really was. Making a small moan from my lips, I realized I was lying on comfortably on something soft and cushioned. When I opened my eyes, I saw Alfred standing by the couch I was lying on in the parlor.

"Feeling better, Miss Sarah?" he asked in his kind, grandfather like voice

I sat up, looking around, and wondering only one thing.

"Alfred," I started. "How did I get here?"

It was a stupid question, really. I already knew how I came to be at the Wayne Manor. But Alfred had a small twinkle in his eye.

"It would seem you had a guardian angel in the form of a shadow watching over you," he smiled sweetly.

I stopped, and looked at Alfred...Oh my gosh, they knew about Batman and I. Groaning, I put my head in my hands. I knew this would happen. I just knew it.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked

"Well..."Alfred started. "Master Wayne would like to talk to you about it. But I suppose you're not in trouble,"

"You're not gonna tell my uncle, are you? 'Cause if he finds out--"

"Miss Sarah, you have nothing to worry about. Now, why don't you tell me how this all started?"

Sitting up, I began to tell Alfred my whole story in a short version. From my rescue, to the car chase, and to the mysterious cave, I explained everything. Although, I didn't tell him about what I was sworn into secrecy by the Batman. The last thing I wanted was for people I loved to get hurt. There was some other things that I didn't say to him either like what happened to Rachel, how Batman sounded familiar, the batarang, my barbwire accident, and the night I yelled at Flass. But he nodded in understanding, saying with is face that I should take my time, telling my to go on when I hesitated, and patted my shoulder when we were done.

"It's just a blessing," he said. "To know that you feel safe around this man when others feel a threat,"

I shrugged.

"If he was a threat," I started. "He would've killed me. I mean, he may seem dangerous and everything, but...I feel like--I feel like I've known him. For a very long time,"

There was silence between us, but it was a comfortable one. Alfred actually understood what I had to do in order to find the identity of my parents murderer, but there was a small hint of disappointment in his voice when he spoke to me. I had to admit, I kind of deserved it. Suddenly, the grandfather clock struck 8, and I jumped in surprise.

"Oh dear,"Alfred said. "You better hurry. The guests will be expecting you and Master Bruce soon,"

"Did Ally drop off my dress?" I asked as I walked out of the parlor.

"Yes. I took the liberty of putting it in your room. It's on your bed. Hurry,"

I hurried as fast as I could upstairs to get ready to present myself to the Fancy World of Gotham...As the Princess of Gotham.

* * *

A while later, Alfred found his master coming in through the secret entrance in the parlor. He stood at attention, but his face was in clear disappointment. He had been watching the news, and frankly the developing story did not please him well. Bruce was already halfway dressed. The only things he needed were his top button collar, tie, suspenders, and dinner jacket. Alfred helped him as he spoke.

"When you told me your grand plan for saving Gotham," he started. "The only thing that stopped me from calling the men in white coats was when you said that it wasn't about thrill seeking,"

"It's not," Bruce replied as he buttoned his top button.

"What would you call that?"

Alfred pointed at the TV, and Bruce looked at it. It was showing footage of the batmobile/police car chase that had happened earlier that night. He looked away.

"Good television," he said dryly.

"_It's a miracle no one was killed_!" Alfred was furious

"I didn't have time to observe the rules of the road Alfred," Bruce explained as he straightened his suspenders.

"You're getting lost inside this monster of yours," Alfred mummbled, helping his master with his dinner jacket.

"I'm using this monster to help other people just like my father did,"

"For Thomas Wayne, helping others wasn't about proving anything to anyone. Including himself,"

Bruce shook his head. Alfred didn't understand. Stopping a moment, he looked at his butler, guardian, and friend with a stern look.

"It's Rachel, Alfred," he said firmly. "She was dying. And Sarah was in a situation she couldn't get out of alone. Rachel's downstairs sedated. I need you to take her home,"

"Well," Alfred sid as his master started to leave, and tie his black tie. "We both care for Rachel and Sarah, sir. But what you're doing has to be beyond that. It can't be personal, or you're just a vigilante,"

"Is Fox still here?"

"Yes sir,"

"We need to send these people away now. Tell Sarah to stay in her room, and not come out unti lI come get her. I'll explain--"

"Those are Bruce Wayne's guests out there sir!" Alfred interuppted. "You have a name to maintain,"

"I don't care about my name,"

"It's not just your name, sir...It's your **father's** name,"

Bruce stopped in the middle of the hallway, and looked at his butler, still tying his bow tie.

"And it's all that's left of him," Alfred was on the brink of tears. "...Don't destroy it,"

And so Alfred walked away, getting ready to do his masters orders. Bruce sighed. It's true. His name was all that was left of his father. And his mother. And he wanted to honor them both. As Bruce Wayne and Batman. But Bruce Wayne had to come first. Smoothing his hair back, he put on a fake smile as he entered the ballroom, hearing his guests sing in honor of this joyous occasion.

_Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Bruce. Happy Birthday to You_.

The whole party applauded as Bruce was handed a glass of champagne and greeyed by WIlliam Earle, Wayne Enterprises' CEO.

"Mr. Earle," Bruce shook his hand with a smile.

"Happy Birthday Bruce," Mr Earle said kindly.

"How'd the, uh, stock offering go?"

"Price's soared,"

"Who's buying?"

"All kinds of funds and brokerages. It's a bit technical. The key thing is...our company's future is secure,"

Bruce smiled, and raised his glass in a bit of triumph.

"Great," he said softly.

As soon as Bruce left Mr. Earle, he had found the Farris family by the refreshments. Mrs. Farris was dressed in a spring greem gown while her husband was in a fine suit. Ally and Nathan looked like spitting images of their parents. Ally was in a short sleeved silk blue dress that sparlked at the neck. The only person who did not enjoy wearing nice clothes, however, was Nathan. He kept scratching his neck underneath his collar as he reached for some chocolate eclairs befo his mother scolded at him. Mr. Farris shook Bruce's hand

"Thank you for inviting us Bruce," he said kindly.

"Thank you for coming," Bruce smiled. "And thank you for watching Sarah while I was away. I hope she wasn't any trouble,"

"Oh, not at all," Mrs. Farris said. "She's a very polite young lady,"

"Where is she?" asked an eager Ally.

"She's upstairs in her room" Bruce answered. "She'll be down soon,"

Ally was always, as you probably know by now, an impatient little girl. Waiting for her friend to come down soon, wasn't soon enough for her. So she hurried quietly upstairs to look for her friend.

"Those two had so much fun," Mrs. Farris referred to Ally and Sarah. "They did all sorts of things togethor: Roller blading, dancing around to music--"

"She taught me how to swim," Nathan interuppted.

"Nathan..."

Bruce smiled

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "See what happened was, I fell in the pool on the deep end and I couldn't get up to the surface, and then Sarah jumped in and rescued me. And she got into a big fight wither her uncle, but it was totally **awesome**!"

By this time, Bruce's smile had faded and looked up at the Farris parents.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We don't know how it happened at first," Mr. Farris shrugged. "Edgar came by with his son the day you left for that business trip. I thought he was there to talk about some things between our companies stocks. But when he tried to change the subject on your goddaughter, we heard a splash outside. Ally was screaming for us and we went out of the pool, and Sarah was getting Nathan out. Then Edgar started contradicting her about her and her parents, and things got a bit heated. He grabbed her and threw her in the pool. I had him moved from the premisis, Bruce. We didn't allow him to see or speak to her,"

Bruce nodded in understanding.

"How'd Sarah take it?" he asked.

"...Well," Mrs. Farris spoke. "She wasn't crying or anything. Most kids would after what I saw. But, she just went on as if the whole thing never happened,"

"That's because she knows what will happen if she brings it up," said a chilling voice.

The Farris's looked up and Bruce turned around to finds Edgar Mason in his bext tuxedo.

"Nice party, Mr. Wayne," he said, taking a glass of champagne from a passing caterer. "It looks like the Princess is all set,"

The Farris's, being a careful couple, moved their son away from the scene, and talked with the other guests. Bruce glared at Edgar, who was taking a sip of champagne with a wicked smile.

"It was you, wasn't it?" he asked. "You told the media to call Sarah the Princess of Gotham,"

Even though Bruce didn't have any proof earlier, the only proof he had was the cold, thin smile on Edgar's face.

'You should thank me for that," he said. "Everyone in the city knows who she is now. She's famous,"

"She's only a child Edgar," Bruce gritted his teeth. "Having her go through all this after her parents death, your sister and brother in law, it's cruel,"

"Life is cruel Mr. Wayne. You just have to block the hits it sends,"

"..._Just like you tried to run her over at the Farris's_?"

"...A mere accident. The girl wasn't looking where she was going. But all is well. She's not hurt...Who told you of this?"

"One of the Farris children informed me of what happened,"

"Well, the _little princess_ won't be socializing with them anymore,"

"Sarah can play with Ally and Nathan anytime she likes. You are not her godfather,"

"Oh?...But I **am** her uncle. And her guardian if anything goes wrong,"

Bruce was puzzled and frustrated at the same time. From inside his coat pocket, Edgar took out a slip of paper.

"This is a warrent," he handed it to Bruce. "Authorizing me to take the girl if she possess any undisciplined behavior or if you show any conduct that wouldn't fit the role of guardian,"

Bruce read the paper carefully. True enough, it was there. All of it. The judges signature, the date the warrent was issed, everything. Sighing, Bruce almost let the paper fall from his hands. He looked up at Edgar.

"Don't expect anything tonight Edgar," he said before walking away.

* * *

I was nervous. I was absolutley, positively, 100 percent nervous. Pacing down the hall with my dress flowing gently, I fiddled with my hands. I could hear the guests mingling in the ballroom, accompanied by classical violin music. My shiny black low healed shoes clicked quietly on the marble floor. My hair was perfectly straight, going just below my shoulders. Looking in the mirror beside where I stood, I mareveled at myself quietly. In less than three weeks, I had turned from a pauper to a princess. I hardly looked like myself...I looked like the little girl in Bruce's photographs. My mother...I just stood there, until I heard Ally come toward me.

"There you are!" she exclaimed. "Come on! Everyone's waiting to see you,"

All grabbed my arm, and tried to move me toward the stairs. I just gently shook it off, and hugged myself.

"What's the matter?" Ally asked. "You nervous?"

I nodded.

"What if they don't like me?' I asked softly.

"They will like you," Ally reassured. "As long as you follow these rules. 1: Don't tell anyone about your past; 2: Everyone will do everything you do from now on; 3: Haley Kingston is here too. And she's got everyone against the whole Batman thing,"

"How?"

Ally shrugged.

"I don't know," she admitted. "They just think he's a psychotic freak in a mask. Look, I know you probably think he's cool and all, but you can't let anyone know. It'll destroy everything you've worked for the past few days...You ready?"

I let out a breath and nodded. Following Ally to the French double doors leading to the staircase that would take me down to the ballroom, I took meditating breaths. This was it. This was the night that would change my life forever.

(A/N: I don't own "Breathe" by Michelle Branch)

_I've been driving for an hour Just talking to the rain. You say I've been driving you crazy and its keeping you away_

Ally looked at me with a smile. Nathan would be downstairs waiting for me, so he could be my escort. I was still nervous, but I knew it would get better--or possibly worse--when I would start walking down the stairs.

_So just give me one good reason. Tell me why I should stay. Cause I don't wanna waste another minute in saying things we never meant to say._

"Good luck," Ally smiled before running off to use a different entrance.

I was gonna need that luck tonight. Who knows what this party may bring?...Maybe if I just sneak to another entrance, the crowd won't notice me...No. I can't do that. This was Bruce's party. I couldn't let him down.

_And I, take in just a little bit. I, hold my breath and count to ten. I, I've been waiting for a chance to let you in_.

I entwined my fingers tightly around the smooth silver door knobs. Taking a deep breath, I opened them slowly. The entrancing ballroom was filled with people in glittering gowns, and fine suits. Violinists played in a corner, focused on their music. But it seemde that when I stepped out and walked down the red velvet staircase, everyone stopped and applauded for me.

_If I just breathe, let it fill the space between. I'll know everything is all right. Breathe, every little piece of me. You'll see, everything is all right if I just breat_he.

I couldn't believe it. They were actually glad that I was there. I smiled as best as I could. My heart skipped a beat, and butterflies filled my stomach rapidly. Scanning the crowd for Bruce, I tried to find him. But the room was so fast, and there were far too many people. I reached the end of the staircase, where Nathan took my hand and led me away, while sneaking a bite of a small fancy cake.

"You look pretty," he said with a mouthful.

"Take that as a compliment," Ally advised as she caught up with is. "He usually doesn't say that about girls. When Mom asked him if she looked like she was seventeen again when we were getting ready, he said that she looked like she was 62,"

I laughed a bit at that. Truth be told, I was a little bit jealous of Ally because she can still talk about her parents, when I can't anymore. I looked through the crowd for Bruce. Ally said he was probably greeting some more guests. Pretty soon, Nathan got sick of eating all the sweets, and Ally left me to take him to Mr. and Mrs. Farris. Looking around, I spotted a couple of girls talking to Haley Kingston. She looked more of a princess in her pink silk spaghetti strapped dress that I did in my black one with white designing on the bottom. But I didn't care. Putting on a smile, I walked up to her.

"Hi Haley," I said.

Haley took one look at me. In an instant, her bright face turned into a disgusted sneer.

"Live the fairytale while you can, princess," she spat. "But everyone here knows that I'm the popular one,"

"...Haley all I did was just say 'hello' to you," I said politely. "If I did anything to offend you..." I sighed. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Get lost. No one wants you here,"

I took a step back, and nodded. Feeling a bit sick to the stomach, I quietly slipped away from the party, and out back where the garden was. I forgot that I wasn't allowed in there, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Hugging myself, I was quiet until I reached the gardens entrance. A gasp escaped from my lips, and I was trapped in a spell. The garden was lit with Christmas lights on the hedges. They imitated stars that had fallen from the night sky and onto the rose bushes, which were blooming deep red. Lillies danced lightly with the "stars" dancing on it's snow white petals. Baby's breath touched my nose when I reached to smell it. My eyes closed as I was sent to what seemed like heaven. My Secret Garden had come to life. But when I opened my eyes, I saw that I wasn't alone. A few yards away from, there was Bruce with his back turned to me, hands in his pocket. My voice broke him out of his deep thoughts.

"Bruce!" I shouted running toward him

Bruce turned around, and smiled as I jumped into his arms, and wrapped a tight hug around him. Until now, I never realized how much I missed him. Quiet tears fell on his shoulder as he rubbed my back in comfort.

"I missed you so much," My voice was muffled against his shoulder.

"I know," Bruce said softly as he set me on my feet.

He took a step back, and took a good look at me in my dress. I was wondering what he was doing, until he gave me a light smile.

"If you showed your uncle this, he'd be scared to death," he said. "You look like your mother,"

I smiled a bit. I already knew that. People have been telling me that for a while, including myself. Figuring we could go a few minutes without the luxury of champagne and violin music, Bruce and I took a walk around outside in the star lit grounds.

"Like what I did to the garden?" has asked.

"It looks amazing," I marveled at the rose bushes

"Yeah. I had a couple of gardeners work on it all day...well, it was more like 30. Give or take,"

"Thank you Bruce," I giggled a bit. "It looks unbelievable...So, I can come back here to read books?"

"You can come back in the garden now...Listen. I've got a surprise for you. Turn around and close your eyes,"

Normally, I didn't like surprises that much. But I obeyed him, and slowly turned around closing my eyes. For a moment, I didn't know what was going on as Bruce moved my hair to one side gently. Something was lightly draped around my neck, and something inside me was lifted up, like a spirit long lost. When Bruce placed his hands on my shoulders, I lifted my hand to my neck, as I opened my eyes. At a loss for words, I cannot describe to you what happened. I didn't believe it at frst, but my locket was fixed and around my neck. Opening it as fast as I could, my parents picture resided in their space. In an instant, all memories of them came flooding back to me. Their voices, what they looked like, everything. A smile played on my lips as I turned to face Bruce.

"How did you--" I started

"The night on your first day of school, when you snuck out," Bruce started as we walked around the garden. "I went out to look for you, and there you were, all curled up in a ball asleep against the well. After I wrapped my jacket around you, I saw that your hand had the broken pieces of your locket. I took you inside, and the next morning, I had it fixed,"

"...But..." I thought aloud. "I thought I dropped it in the well,"

Bruce shrugged.

"You must've been dreaming," he replied.

If it was a dream, then it felt all too real. A night filled silence was set between my godfather and I. Unlike the silence earlier with Alfred, this was very uncomfortable.

"Bruce," I said softly. "Can I talk to you about something?...About the Batman?"

"...I know you've been sneaking out a night," Bruce sounded stiff

I looked down a bit. I was afraid that he would be disappointed. But when he noticed the look on my face, he put a hand on my shoulder, and gave me a small smile.

"You don't have to explain to me," he said. "Our masked friend explained everything when he brought you home,'

My eyes went wide.

"You--" I stuttered a bit. "You saw him? Weren't you afraid?"

"Petrified," Bruce's smile widened. "But Sarah, you were hurt and I wanted to know how you got into that problem,"

"So...you're not mad?"

"I am a _bit_ disappointed. You put yourself in danger, and you were prideful in not letting the police handle these things...But I can't say I blame you. You take after your mother,"

I was still looking down a bit. A lot of things about the Batman still bothered me. But only one problem stuck out.

"He said he didn't want to be my friend," I said as I went to pick a daisy.

Bruce looked at me from behind as I twirled the daisy with my thumb and index finger. I was feeling a bit depressed. One person who had influenced me so much didn't want to be my friend.

"Do you know why?" Bruce inquired.

I shurgged.

"I don't know," But somehow I did. "He said he didn't have the luxury for them,"

"...Sarah," Bruce turned me around as I started picking the petals. "Maybe he only told you that because he wants to keep you safe,"

"Maybe," I repeated. "But what if that's not it? What if it's something else? What if it's that he doesn't like me or anything?"

"Why do you think he's trying to keep you safe?"

I stopped picking the petals off the daisy as Bruce brushed a stray hair out of my face and tucked it behind my left ear. Taking my hand gently, he led me back inside the manor. All the guests didn't seem to notice that we both left for a while. But we both put on smiles, and greeted more guests together. Soon, we were both greeted by a man in his early 50's, I suppose, and Bruce acknowledged him.

"Mr. Earle," he shook his hand. "I hope you are enjoying yourself,"

"I am," Mr. Earle said. "Thank you Bruce. And am I to understand tha tthis is your goddaughter and supposed heir to the company of Wayne Enterprises?"

I hid behind Bruce a bit. I was king of shy, and this man was another citizen of the Fancy World of Gotham. An accquantince with him would either be to go into league with a god, or selling your sould. However, Bruce didn't notice my fear this time, and pulled me from behind him gently.

"Sarah," he said gently. "This is William Earle. He's the CEO of Wayne Enterprises,"

"Nice to meet you," I held out a shaky hand.

Earle didn't shake my hand. He merely looked at it. After a moment, I let my hand fall to my side, and moved closer to Bruce

"Yes Bruce," he studied me. "You were right. She's a good kid. Doesn't seem to be that social though. I'm sure nothing economic classes can't handle,"

I gulped silently. Clearly, this man judges people way quicker than I did. Thankfully, Bruce wasn't one of those people.

"She's smart," he implied. "And obedient. I'm sure she'll make a good executive one day,"

"But does she have the will to do it?" Earle inquired.

"_I'mgonnagogetsomepunch_," I said quickly.

I left Bruce and Earle to their conversation, and to the refreshments. To hear people talk about my planned out future...it was annoying, to be honest. When I got to the food, I poured myself a glass of punch. Before I could let it reach my lips, I spotted a boy in a suit, sitting in a corner chair, favoring his right arm. After squinting a bit, I realized it was my cousin Josh. Sighing, I walked over to him slowly, holding my punch glass between my hands.

"Hey Josh," I greeted softly.

"Hi," Josh didn't look at me.

"...Did you hurt your arm?"

Josh didn't say anything.

"If it's any consolation, I hurt my leg pretty badly earlier today,"

Still no answer.

"How did you hurt it?...Do you want me to get you some ice?"

"**Why don't you just go away if you know what's good for you**?" Josh blurted out.

I knew I had it coming, so I just left my cousin sitting all alone. Still, I was worried about his arm. As I thought, I brought the punch to my mouth. But before I could even drink the tiniest bit, Ally came out of nowhere, and grabbed my arm. Pulling me away, we walked at a fast pace to the other side of the ballroom.

"Don't go over there," Ally warned me. "Haley's got a gossip circle going on, and the topic is _you_,"

"Well--" I looked back. "What are they talking about?"

"Trust me. You **don't** want to know,"

But I did want to know what Haley was talking about. Loosening Ally's grip from my arm, I went over to Haley's little group, despite my friends protest. Haley and her friends were laughing with heads back, open mouths emitting giggles, and their blonde hair flipping about. When they spotted me, they stopped talking, and Haley sneered at me.

"Look everyone," she said as if everyone was listening to her. "It's the Princess of Gotham,"

I grinded me teeth at my given title, but I stood my ground.

"Haley," I started. "Were you talking about me just now?"

"Yeah," Haley said innocently. "It was nothing bad, really. Just the truth,"

"The truth?"

"You know...Those little things about you,"

"...You mean the way I look or something?"

"Yeah," Haley winced wih a smile. "That must've been one of natures little freak accidents. I'm sure your parents weren't as bad as you, but I mean, come on, have you looked in the mirror?"

"Why?" I asked darkly. "**Does your mirror tell you that you're the fairest one of all, when really your subjects only grovel at you so you could spare them**?"

There was silence between me, and what would soon be my arch-nemisis in school. I sighed.

"Haley, I'm not trying to fight you on anything. Why can't we be friends?" I asked. "I'm sure we have something in common,"

Haley's eyes narrowed at me.

"I have nothing in common with a Scum of the Narrows," she said

That name. The Scum of the Narrows. I hated it. That thing inside. The monster was snapping inside me. _Snap, snap, snap_.

"You may be in a nice dress, and be treated like royalty. But everyone knows you're not a princess. You're a freak,"

_Snap! Snap! Snap!_

"You will never be the Princess of Gotham..."

_Snap!_

"...You are the Scum of the Narrows..."

_Snap!_

"...And your parents..."

_SNAP!_

"...They couldn't bear to look at you or love you,"

...She did it. I don't believe it, but she actually did it. She made me angry. I don't remember what happened. The next thing I saw though, was my punch glass splashing all over her pink dress. She let out an ear-splitting scream, causing an attraction to the other guests. My heart was pounding, and I was in labored breath. Haley scowled at me.

"I am so--" I started.

"No!" Haley screeched. "Don't say you're sorry! You're not!"

Well, she's right about one thing. I actually wasn't sorry I ruined her dress.

"Look at what you did! This is a one of a kind dress! It's worth more than you're useless life,"

"**Oh, get over it**!" I snapped at her. "**It's punch. Not_ blood_**!"

"Might as well be. You killed it you freak!"

"...You know what Haley, I just might grow out of being a freak. But you will never stop being a witch!"

And with that, I raced upstairs to me room. My anger had gotten the better of Haley...and I **_enjoyed_** pouring my punch on her dress

(A/N: Hope you guys liked it. Review please!)


	15. Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I turned the corner to my room, slammed the door behind me, and rushed t omy bathroom. Part of me still couldn't believe I poured punch all over Haley Kingston, but all of me enjoyed every sweet moment of it. I could still hear her ranting in my head as I looked in the mirror. My face was red and felt hot to the touch. Shutting the bathroom door and locking it, I turned in the cold and splashed water on my face. Nothing else felt so much more wonderful than tiny droplets of cold water on my cheeks and forehead. As I patted my face dry, I heard Ally through the door.

"I can NOT believe you just did that," she said.

She sounded like she was angry at me, but I could care less right now. Immedietly, I grabbed a brush from the marble counter and started putting my hair into a low ponytail.

"Do you know what you have done?" Ally asked, more ticked off. "You just ruined your chance to become somebody. You could've been the most popular girl in school. You just had to lose your cool back there,"

"...She deserved it," I seethed through my teeth as I got my clothes I wore earlier.

"So what?"

"Ally, she talked trash about my parents!" I took off my dress.

"She talked trash about you too!"

"No, she was talking about the Princess of Gotham and the Scum of the Narrows...And I'm neither of those things,"

I had now come to the belief that I was being pressured into being someone I didn't want to be. Now, more than ever, I wanted to be me. I put on my shirt and bloodied up pants as Ally talked again.

"Sarah," she said. "You have to apologize to Haley,"

"Even if I wanted to apologize to her," I started. "Haley won't accept an apology from me,"

"Who cares? You have a reputation now!"

"_Reputation_!"

After I tied my shoes, I unlocked the bathroom door, and opened it to find an angry Ally. If looks could kill, I'dbe dead right now. But I stared back with my own glare.

"The only reputations I've had since my parents died was either a pauper or a princess," I started. "And I hate being those things. I just want to be me!...I don't want to change. Everyone I've met wanted me to change. Bruce, Haley,...you..."

This seemed to hurt Ally's feelings. Tears were streaming down her face. Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to do that. I was so angry, I didn't know that I was taking it out on my best friend. Going past me, she grabbed my dress I borrowed out of my bathroom, and left me alone in my room. Closing the door, I slowly moved to m bed, and just laid there on it, my head landing on the matress with my upper body. Opening my locket, I stared at my parents picture.

"Mom, Dad," I sighed. "What am I gonna do now?"

As I stared at my locket, my bedroom door was opened, and my uncle waslked in. Quickly, I put my precious treasure under my shirt so that he wouldn't see it, and sat up on my bed. What was he doing here? He was looking all smug like it was Christmas or something. I glared at him, and kept it on my face as he talked to me.

"Marvelous performance," he said as he took a book from my nightstand, and flipping through its pages. "I'd ask for an encore, but that wouldn't seem right now would it?"

I snatched the book from my uncles hand, and set it on my bed. He wasn't allowed to touch anything in this room. And I mean anything. Not evn the carpet on the floor.

"Get out of my room," I ordered him.

My uncle didn't move anything but his creepy smile. It had widened to the corners of his mouth, and it was making me sick. Right in the bottom of the stomach. I thought I was gonna retch. Uncle Edgar looked at his watch.

"You have 30 minutes," he said turning to leave. "I'll be waiting,"

My eyes softened, as did my voice. 30 minutes of what? I followed him before he could take a step out of my room.

"30 minutes to do what?" I asked

When my uncle turned to me, he looked like he would enjoy what he had to say to me. I was growing scared. Oh please no. Please don't let it be what I think it's gonna be.

"From now on," he moved closer to me as I backed away. "You live under _my_ rules, _my_ roof...and under _my_ watchful eye,"

I had backed up to the point where I had to sit on my bed. I shook my head. No. He can't take me. I can't go with him. He can't have custody over me! It'sNOT possible!

"You can't do this,"I said in a shaking voice. "You can **not** take me away from here. This is my home,"

"It wasn't your homefor 5 minutes now," Edgar replied. "Not after your little stunt you pulled on the Kingston girl,"

"You can't make me go with you. I'll run the first chance I get,"

"I will find you wherever you go. No matter where you hide, you will come with me,"

"...I know people. They'll take me away from you forever. I can live in the shadows, and not make a sound, and you won't find me,"

"You wouldn't live in the shadows because you're afraid of the dark,"

"NO I'M NOT! Not anymore!"

"Don't raise your voice at me!"

I shook my head.

"Bruce won't let me go," I reminded him with a loud voice. "He won't. He promised,"

"Shut your mouth," My Uncle spat.

"No. Not this time. I'm sick of taking orders from **_you_**! You have no power over me!"

"Sarah..."

I looked to the bedroom door, and Bruce was standing there with a sad look on his face. I rushed up to him, and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him.

"I won't go with him," I said in his ear. "I won't go with him. I want to stay here,"

Bruce held me tight, as if he didn't want to let me go. I didn't either. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

"Mr. Mason," he said over my shoulder. "Can you give us a few minutes?"

After a moments hesitaion, my uncle left my room, and Bruce had me sit on my bed, and sat with me. There was a brief silence, but it gave me enough time for me to finally take in what was happenening.

"...I'm sorry I let this happened," he said putting a hand on my shoulder.

I didn't say anything. I was a bit angry with him. He broke his promise.

"If there was anything I could do to stop it--"

"There is," I bursted. "Let me stay here,"

"It's not that simple. He had a warrent that was issued just this morning stating that he can take you into his custody if anything should happen,"

My eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!" I asked. "If I had known about it, I wouldn't have thrown punch all over Haley,"

"I didn't want you to be scared," Bruce explained.

I stared at him.

"_Scared_?" I repeated. "You automatically thought that I would be afraid of something that could've been prevented if you said a word to me?"

"Sarah," Bruce started. "You have every right to be upset. I would've said something, but I never thought thta you would pull a stunt like you did downstairs,"

"...And I never thought you would let me go,"

During another life-time filled silence, I unfastened my locket around my neck, took it off, and put it in Bruce's hand. He looked at me puzzled as I got out my duffle bag and put it on the bed.

"Sarah," he said softly. "I don't want your locket,"

"Keep it," I said stiffly. "I don't want it anymore,"

Bruce shook his head as I continued to pack for my unplanned departure.

"Sarah," he got up from his seat. "Your parents gave this to you,"

I stopped, and just stared at nothing. Of course. I had recieved that locket on my 8th birthday. Remembering that I wanted to be just like my mother, I kept that locket around my neck for as long as I can remember. But knowing that my parents were dead, and long gone, I shook my head and continued packing.

"My parents are dead," I said softly. "That locket means nothing to me, and it's brought nothing but bad memories,"

"Sarah, they're not dead," Bruce protested in a quietly.

"**WHAT AND YOU THINK YOURS IS COMING BACK AS WELL AS MINE? GO AWAY**!"

I didn't know, but this struck Bruce hard. He left my room quietly as I continued to pack. I thought about bringing my favorite books. No, I couldn't. I'm going to live with my uncle now. He wouldn't approve of childish stories, and dreams that comforted me when in doubt. I saw on my bed, and cried silently into my soft silk pillow until it was time for me to go.

* * *

Bruce mingled with his guests silently back down at the party. The Kingstons and Farris' left early with a furious Haley, a sleepy Nathan, and a quiet Ally. He knew that Sarah had a rough night, but he didn't know it would push her over the edge. She had lost her best friends, and her home all in one night. He knew he should've told her when he first saw her...Edgar wasn't going to get away with this. Moving through the crowd, he was forming a plan. He was going to tell his goddaughter to unpack, stay with him, and that Edgar had no right to take her away. Suddenly, a woman in her early 50's in a dark blue dress, stopped him.

"Bruce," she said. "There's somebody here you simply must meet,"

"No now, Mrs. Delaney," Bruce protested softly.

Despite his attempt to get away, Bruce was dragged to a man with his back turned to him and his guest. Quietly, he looked for an escape path as Mrs. Delaney spoke.

"Now," she started. "Am I pronouncing this right? Mr. Ra's Al Ghul?"

Bruce snapped his head with sharp eyes. She did NOT just say Ra's Al Ghul. His mind was no longer fixed on getting his goddaughter to stay here. It was focused on the supposed man who ran a secret society called the League of Shadows. But Bruce knew better.

"You're not Ra's Al Ghul," he said softly. "...I watched him die,"

"But," said a familiar voice behind him. "Is Ra's Al Ghul immortal?"

Slowly, Bruce turned around as Mrs. Delaney was led away to face another man. He was tall, looked youthful in his aging years, and had an asian-like goatee. Like the man who was called "Ra's Al Ghul" he had a strange blue flower pinned on his nice suit. This man was named Henri Ducard, Bruce's mentor for the League of Shadows. Yes, Bruce Wayne himself was almost a member of the League of Shadows...That is until he found out they were going to destroy Gotham, and burned down the monastery, and killed Ra's Al Ghul during the process. Now, he was regretting saving his teacher. He glared ar him while Ducard had a smug smile.

"Are his methods supernatural?" Ducard asked.

"...Or cheap parlor tricks to conceal your true identity? _Ra's_?" Bruce spat out his mentors true name

To this, Ducard gave off a nod.

"Surely," he said moving closer to his old student. "A man who spends his nights scrambling over the rooftops of Gotham wouldn't begrudge(sp?) me with dual identities,"

They knew. The knew he was the Dark Knight.

"I saved your life," Bruce said to him in a whisper.

"I warned you about compassion Bruce," Ducard seemed to be enjoying this

Bruce looked around and moved closer as realization hit him. Ducard was holding the party hostage.

"Your quarrel is with me," he said. "You let these people go,"

"You are welcome to explain the situation to them," Ducard persuaded.

Bruce stared at his old teacher. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his goddaughter approach the party slowly with a duffel bag full of clothes in one hand, her backpack over her shoulder, and all wrapped up in her jacket. He sighed as he moved toward the middle of the ballroom. Everyone had to go. And it wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

"Everyone?" I heard Bruce catch everyone's attention. "Everybody?"

I looked up from looking at the floor. My eyes were still red with tears of anger and sadness mixed into one. The musicians stopped playing as everyone was looking at Bruce, who looked like he was about to give a toast, given the champagne glass in his hand,"

"I,uh," I watched him make his speech. "I want to thank you all coming here tonight, and drinking all of my booze,"

There was a rumble of a light chuckle from everyone. Even Bruce laughed...although his face was serious.

"No really," he said. "...There's a thing about being a Wayne is that...you're never short of a few free loaders, like yourselves, to fill up your mansion with. So here's to you people. Thanks,"

I was suprised to as Bruce took a gulp from his champagne glass. What on earth was he doing? A man stepped a bit from the crowd to Bruce.

"That's enough Bruce," he said calmly.

"I'm not finished," Bruce slurred his words as he stopped the man. "Also to all of you--All you phonies. To you--" Bruce laughed a bit. "Two faced friends, you psyhcofantic suck-ups, who smile through your teeth at me. Please--Leave me in peace. _Please_ go. Stop smiling. It's not a joke. Please leave. The party's over. Get out,"

By the time Bruce was finished, I had come to the bottom of the stairs looking confused. Why did he do that? I knew this wasn't him...Something's wrong. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone and just ruined his title to all the Fancy World of Gotham. As the crowd started to pull out, I was able to get to him at a slow pace. We both looked at each other. I couldn't bear to look at him, so I looked down.

"I'm--" I started to stay.

"Scummy," A hand grasped my arm firmly. "Let's go,"

I shook off my uncle's grip in one pull, and glared at him

"I have something to say," I gritted my teeth. "And I would appreciate it if you just let me say it,"

"There's nothing you can say," My uncle fought. "He's a drunkard, and you're an ill-mannered pile of scum. Let's go,"

Uncle Edgar grabbed my arm in a tight grip, and pulled me away from Bruce. He almost reached out to get me, but hesitated, and let his arm fall to his side. Tears fell on my cheeks as I was dragged away.

"I'm sorry," I choke a bit as I reached the front door.

* * *

Bruce tore his eyes away from the front door of the manor, where Edgar's limo was out on the driveway. He had not seen his goddaughter mouth her apology to him, but he knew what she wanted to say before she was silenced by Edgar. Angry at himself for letting Edgar take her away, he looked at the remaining guests, who were also members of the League of Shadows, around him. At least Saraj was safe from the clutches of them, and would be out of harm's way

"Amusing," Ducard said as he and Bruce walked down the hallway. "But pointless. None of these people have long to live. Your antics at the asylum have forced my hand,"

"So Crance was working for you," Bruce confirmed as he looked around.

Back at the asylum, after leaving Sarah to rest out her leg, Bruce as Batman fought Crance as the Scarecrow. After Batman had poisoned him with his own medicine, he quiestioned Crance fiercely about what he was doing and who he was working for. The only name Crane spat out of fear was this: Ra's Al Ghul.

"His toxin was derived from the organic compound found in our blue flowers," Ducard explained. "He was able to weaponize it,"

"He's not a member of the League of Shadows," Bruce confirmed.

"Of course not. He thought our plan was to hold the city to ransom,"

"...But really, you are going to release Crane's poison on the entire city,"

"Then watch Gotham tear itself apart through fear,"

* * *

I sat in the limo with arms folded, and looking out the window with a blank face. My head was spinning, and my cheeks wre dryinf of previou tears. Glaring in my mind, I listened my uncle explain in so called "rules" to me.

"You are to get up on your own, and get ready for school by 7," he explained in a curtly manner. "Homework will also be checked by 8 at night,"

My head moved slowly to take one look at him. It turned away after one small moment.

"...And above all," he said darkly. "You are to stay in your room until I have some unquenchable need to speak to you..."

Like that will ever happen.

"...And you are to stay out of the attic, the room in the east wing, and my office,"

"...You can't tell me what to do," I said softly. "You are not my father...you're not my mother. And you're not Bruce or Alfred,"

"But I am your uncle...And blood, my dear niece, is thicker than water,"

* * *

"You're going to destroy millions of lives," Bruce declared as he and Ducard continued down the hall.

"Only a cynical man would call what these people have lives Wayne," Ducard spat. "Crime, despair...this is not how man was supposed to live,"

Ducard faced Bruce now, stopping. He wanted to explain more fully why he was destroying Gotham City.

"The League of Shadows has been a check against human corruption for thousands of years," he started. "We sacked Rome; Loaded trade ships with plague rats; Burned London to the ground. Everything a civilization reaches the pinacle of defense, we return to restore the balance,"

"Gotham isn't beyond saving," Bruce shook his head.

Ducard looked at his best student with a smug smile.

"Give me more time," Bruce pleaded. "There are good people here,"

"You are defending a city so corrupt," Ducard protested. "You have infiltrated every level of ot's infrastructure,"

* * *

The limo pulled to a soft halt. I looked ahead. It was the last traffic light before the road was split into two ways. One led to Edgar's mansion, and the other went into the city. I turned in my seat to look through the back window as if to see the Wayne Manor. My home.

"Can..." I dared to ask. "Can I visit Bruce sometimes?"

"No," My uncle said darkly.

"Can he visit me?"

"..._You are never to see Bruce Wayne again_,"

* * *

"When I found you in that jail, you were lost," Ducard still spoke to Bruce. "But I believed in you. I took away your fear, and I showed you a path,"

Bruce said nothing. That story was all too familiar. He had once met a little girl asleep on his private jet plane. She never spoke, and was afraid of everything...But he too had believed in her, and thus her path was set.

"You were my greatest student," Ducard continued. "It should be you standing by my side saving the world,"

...What this man did was no saving. It was destroying. And Bruce or Batman wouldn't llow it.

"I'll be standing where I belong," Bruce stood his ground. "...Between you and the people of Gotham,"

Ducard shook his head.

"No one can save Gotham," he declared.

This statement was not true, of course. With a nod, Ducard's men started throwing things to the ground. With almost a flick of their wrist, it was almost as if magic was the culprit that started the fires around. Dark magic. Bruce did nothing to stop them.

"When a forest grows too wild," Ducard used a strange analogy. "A purging fire is inevitable and natural. Tomorrow the world will watch in horror as its greatest city destroys itself...the movement back to harmony will be unstoppable this time,"

Bruce was suprised at this.

"You attacked Gotham before?" he asked.

"Of course," Ducard answered. "Over the ages our weapons have grown more sophisticated. With Gotham, we tried a new one: Economics. But we unerestimated certain of Gotham's citizens--Such as your parents,"

Bruce was frozen on the spot when Ducard had said this. So it was hi,. Ducard was the one who started the madness. He was the true murderer of Thomas and Martha Wayne. And possibly Luke and Jennifer. Scary part was...he only loaded the gun. Not pulled the trigger.

"Gunned down by one of the very people they were trying to help," Ducard continued crushing Bruce's spirit. "Create enough hunger and everyone becomes a criminal. Their deaths scalvenized the city into saving itself, and Gotham has limped on ever since. We are back to finis the job. And this time, no misguided idealists will get in the way. Like your father, you lack the courage to do all that is necessary. If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them...and stab them in the heart,"

Bruce knew Ducard too well. Taking immediate action, he spun around. Finding a man behind him about to stab him, he smashed the champagne glass against his neck, bringing him down to the ground. When he turned back, Ducard was ready to fight The flames were growing fast as wild as their anger and their moves. Timing Ducard's every step, Bruce was able to block every move. When he got one of them held off, he glared at his old teacher, rage shaking in his voice.

"I **am** gonna stop you," Bruce said, growling.

"You never did learn to mind your surroundings!" Ducard retorted.

Before Bruce could react, he was pushed backward onto the ground. The last thing he saw before blacking out was a flaming limber coming down from the cieling.

* * *

Something was wrong. Something happened to Bruce. My heart was telling me all this. I grabbed my backpack as I started to panic.

"Turn the car around," I said as we started turning a corner.

My uncle jeered at me

"No," he said. "I told you. You are never to see Bruce Wayne again. You never listen to me, do you?"

I looked out my side window, peering at the road we drove on. It looked like the car was flying on it. And flying fast...Man, I can't believe I was doing this

"You're right," I said softly. "**I don't**,"

Taking my chance, I unlocked my car door, opened it wide, and jumped out of the moving limo with my backpack over my shoulder. The impact sent me rolling off the side of the road, and into a ditch. The second I was on my feet, I took off running in the woods, covering myself in darkness. From a distant, I could hear tires screeching, and my uncle yelling from afar. Running as fast as I could, I had myself caught in tangled branches every now and again, tearing at my jacket, and my cheeks. Trying to find the way back to Wayne Manor, I heard a loud bell ringing. Turning my head slowly to my left, I faced the way the sound was coming from. It was coming from the Narrows. I remembered Batman saying something about Crane's toxin in the water supply...It must've done something to make it so all the people would get sick at once. I took out my roller blades as I neared a deserted road, hearing screams from far away. After putting them on, I raced down the road to the bridge that went into the Narrows. I didn't care if I was a scared twelve-year-old. I had to help. Besides...Gotham Police was going to need all the help it could get.

* * *

"Master Wayne!" Bruce heard Alfred. "Master Wayne!"

Bruce opened his eyes slowly. His Manor was still in flames, and he was still stuck underneath the burning wooden plank that pinned him down. He tried to push it off him as Alfred helped, but he plank wouldn't budge. Not even the slightest bit.

"What is the point of all those push-ups," Alfred started, a bit frustrated. "If you can't even lift a bloody log?"

Bruce stopped a bit, took a deep breath, and pushed the log off of him with a loud grunt. When he was free, he rolled over a bit, holding his side. He was hurt pretty bad. Alfred helped him up, and together they raced through the inferno and into the fiery parlor. Using the musical password on the piano, the secret door opened, and Alfred was able to help his master onto the dumbwaiter. Not even bothering to tightly shut the doors, the old butler pulled the lever, and just as an explosion hit, they were going down into the dark refuge of which was called the Batcave. When they had reached safely, Bruce looked at the inferno above them with watery eyes,

"What have I done Alfred?" he gasped for breaths of clean air. "Everything my family, my father built..."

"The Wayne legacy is more than bricks and molder(sp?) sir," Alfred checked his masters injury.

"I wanted to save Gotham...I failed,"

"...Why do we fall sir?"

Bruce looked at his butler. Alfred had a sad smile on his face.

"So that we can learn to pick ourselves up,"

"...You still haven't given up on me?" Bruce was now smiling.

"Never,"

Bruce had never been so overwhelmed with comfort. Those words had always meant something to him. It was like that when his father said it to him, when he said it to his goddaughter, and now his butler was saying it to him. At the thought, Bruce dug into his pocket, and took out the golden heart-shaped locket. It wasn't damaged in any way. It was still perfect. Alfred noticed it.

"...What happened with Mis Sarah?" he asked.

"...She left with her uncle," Bruce said quietly. "I've lost custody...And I think it's good for her to stay with relatives,"

Alfred shook his head.

"That," he said. "Was the one thing she was afraid of,"

Bruce said nothing as he opened the locket, looking at Luke and Jennifer's picture.

"I'm sorry Jennifer," he said to himself. "I've sent her to her worst fear,"

(A/N: Hope you guys liked it. Please tell me in your review what you would like to happen in this story. Maybe I can get some more ideas, and add a bit more spark. Happy Easter!)


	16. Far Away

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

My breaths were in beat with my pumping heart as I roller bladed through the streets. Each block and occasinal police car brought me closer to the screaming and yelling citizens in the Narrows. The police had to know fully what was going on. And they were going to need all the help they could get. My only hopes were that everyone would be okay, that Batman would know about this and be there, and that my uncle wouldn't find me. When I neared the bridge, it seemed as if every cop in Gotham was here, and ready for anything. Anything except their worst nightmare, that is. Passing a few horses, a SWAT truck, I started toward the bridge, only to be stopped by a policeman

"Whoa, kid," he said. "Where are you going?"

"Officer," I said calmly. "You have to let me cross. I know Sergeat Gordon, and..."

"You can't cross here, kid. Where are your parents? Go to them. They're probably worried,"

I didn't have any parents anymore. Nor did I know of anyone who cared about me dearly. I was alone.

"Officer," I stated. "At least evacuate all the people in danger,"

"I don't have that authority..."

"Their lives are at stake. **Gotham's** life is at stake. If the police--"

"Kid, the only thing going on right now is a mob full of serial killers and rapists, going through the Narrows like ants on a rampage,"

"But--"

"Look, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna have you sit in a police car unti lwe get the police force to get this under control. Then when the bridges go up, I'm gonna call your parents, and they'll come and get you. Hey patrolman! Cover for me!"

I was taken by the arm in a firm grip as the police officer, and taken across the road where patrol cars were parked against the curb. He opened the door for me, and relunctuntly, I climbed in the back seat. I sat there watching out the window, feeling totally hopeless. So much for coming here, and proving my bravery. At least I was away from my uncle for a while. This moment, this time, right now...I guess I felt safe. Somewhere inside me, I had a feeling of security. All of a sudden, though, I saw the bridge leading to the Narrows going up, and seperating the Criminal World from the Fancy World of Gotham. A pit in my stomach grew bigger and bigger as I thought about the people who were in possible critical danger...as I felt cold and hot at the same time, feeling ill...and as I saw Comissioner Loeb come to the car. He opened the door, and I slowly came out, and stood next to him, hugging myself, trying to see if I could get my stomach to feel better.

"What are you doing here Sarah?" he asked in a stern voice.

I said nothing. I was afraid...I shouldn't have been. It made me feel worse. Clutching it, I tried to suppress the ache.

"You do know it's dangerous to be here now, right?" Loeb asked again

I nodded, holding my stomach even more. A police oficer came up to Loeb.

"Sir," he sarted. "We just got a call from Edgar Mason. Said his niece ran off and was last seen heading off into the woods," The policeman pointed at me. "And from the looks of it, that one's been scratched up pretty good on the face. Most likely from tree branches,"

I raised a hand to my cheek, and felt the sticky substance of blood on my fingers. I looked in the mirror on the police car, and saw multiple scratches all over from the branches sticking out back at the woods. At least they wouldn't leave any scars or anything. As I insepcted my face, the cries from the Narrows grew louder and more bone chilling. It took only a moment for me to notice the blood curdling sound.I turned to face the way to the Narrows as Loeb took a walkie talkie from a policeman.

"This is Commisioner Loeb," he said in a rough voice. 'Come on, somebody talk to me...Come on!"

No answer came. Truth be told, I didn't expect one to come. Not after what I've seen. Smoke was rising from the streets and growing closer to the edge. Soon it would reach me and the two policemen. Even though I knew I was protected from Crane's toxin, fear almost made me puke from the thought of beind poisoned.

"Come on Batman," I whispered to myself. "Hurry. Please,"

I started searching the skies, and kept my ears open for any sound of a loud engine, as Loeb in the walkie talkie.

"Loeb! Loeb!" Gordon came on. "This is Gordon!"

"What is going on over there?" Loeb asked desperately.

"We need reinforcements! TAK teams, SWAT's, riot cops..."

"Whoa, whoa! Gordon! Gordon!" Loeb tried to stop him to explain. "All the city's riot police are on the island with you,"

"Well, they're completely incompacitated!"

"...Gordon...There's nobody left to send in,"

Just when all hope seemed lost, I heard a distant sound. My eyes brightened a bit as I turned around to see the bat tank leaping over the humungous river and to the Narrows. Yes! He made it! I knew it. Looking back, I saw that Commisioner Loeb and the police officer havn't noticed the Caped Crusader rush in to save the city. Just then, an idea came to my mind...What if I asked the Batman if I could stay with him? I mean, it'd be cool, right? I wouldn't have to worry about school; I can take classes online. I can be safe from harm, and Batman could teach me how to protect myself. And I wouldn't have to worry about friends and family because...Oh wait. I forgot. He doesn't want any friends. I leaned back against the side of the police car and slid down to the pavement. The screams of the Narrows were growing louder and louder. I wanted to scream too for all the frustration I had on that night. The policeman soon came with a phone used on patrols.

"Hey kid," he said. "Your uncle's Edgar Mason, right?"

I nodded a bit, and he handed the cell phone to me.

"He wants to talk to you," he said. "Worried sick, that guy is,"

Now I didn't buy that for a second. I knew it was all an act. As soon as the policeman left, I cautiously put the cell phone to my ear.

"...You pitiful, insolent Scum of the Narrows," My Uncle slithered.

I shivered with a shudder that seemed to take over my whole body.

"You listen to me now," my Uncle continued. "When I get my hands on you, your life is going to be a living nightmare. Do you hear me? I'm your guardian now, and you do exactly as I say. Not Bruce Wayne. Besides, who else would take in a worthless little nothing like you?"

While he ske, I was staring at the Narrows. The misty smoke was coming closer to Gotham. So close, I could almost feel it's moisture on my skin. The bridge started to come down again as I hear the engine of the bat tank. But when I looked up to find the monorail rushing above me on it's tracks, I saw the Batman hanging onto it with his grappling gun...But who was driving the Battank if he was up there?

"Batman?" I asked, forgetting about my uncle.

"_**Batman**_?" asked my uncle in a rage. "That freak! Even he wouldn't look at you. You worthless little--"

At this moment, I had dropped the cell phone to the ground as the mist reached Gotham. I knew it was the poison, and it had immedietly taken hold of Loeb and the policeman. Taking my chance, I skated after the monorail to see if I could get ahead of it. As I saw Batman swing himself in a window, smashing small shards of glass that had found it's way to the ground, a plan was forming. If I found the brake system that would stop the train, then maybe the poison would stop spreading. But first I had to dodge every car, every citizen, and every water main lid that exploded from the pressure underneath. I heard the Bat tank close behind me as I covered my head to avoid a falling water main lid. It seemed as though I was no match for the train, because as it sped ahead of me, I was covered in the poisonous mist of fear. I caught myself on a nearby light pole, and started coughing my lungs out. I knew I was safe from the toxin, but it almost blinded me, and it got caught in my throat. Again, I felt sick to the stomach. And I realized now that even if I could get to the emergency brake system, I wouldn't be able to stop the train. Now you finally notice I thought sarcastically to myself. As I hung onto the light pole, I saw something that had to deal with the Battank. I don't know what it did, but somehow it caused part of the train tracks to break apart from the rest. My eyes were wider than they were before. Now the train was going to go flying off the track! Composing myself immedietly, I sought refuge in a nearby alley. I knew that thing was going to explode, and I was so close to where the train would crash. Kneeling behind a dumpster, and covering my head. I was in a safe position just as I felt a great rumble under my feet, and the dumpster shook against me with great force. I was afraid it would fall on me. When it finally subsided, I remained in a curled ball, my hands covering my head protectively. Sharp, but shallow, breaths escaped from me. I dared not make a sound...No one should have to go through all this. Especially the innocent people of Gotham. Suddenly, after about 10 minutes of hiding in that same place, I heard my uncle's voice from the street, booming with anger.

"Where is she?" he asked. "I've been worried sick about her for an hour! _I want my niece_!"

I couldn't believe he was here. Taking in a sharp breath, I clutched my stomach a bit. I really didn't want to go with my uncle. I'd rather stay in what was left of the Narrows. Standing up, I skated backwards towards the brick wall in the dark. The only thing I faced was the way I came in, because I was afraid my uncle would find me in here. He won't find me in the dark. He won't find me in the dark. He won't find me in the dark. He...won't...find...me...in...the...dark...A pair of hands went down on my shoulder. Gloved ones, and from the corner of my eye, a black cape was slowly floating in the soft wind. I knew it was the Dark Knight and I didn't want to fight him. I felt too tired, too cold, and too sick to do anything anyway. Gently, the Batman wrapped his cape around my shoulders, and guided me out of the alley, and out onto the clear street. As I skated alongside him, I saw my uncle with Gordon. One look at me, and my uncle was bawling his eyes out. The next thing I knew, he engulfed me in a tight hug. I was certain he was faking, and trying to crush my lungs.

"I was so worried about you," my uncle sobbed on my shoulder. "Your mother wouldn't have forgiven me if I lost you,"

I took a small glance at the Batman, who looked like he had a blank expression under his bat cowl. When I looked at Gordon, he looked disappointed at me. Keeping my head down, I didn't want to look at the men whom I trusted with my life. My Uncle Edgar noticed the Dark Knight.

"Thank you Batman," he said in a kind voice. "You don't know how much this means to me,"

Batman gave off a nod.

"It's nice to know she means that much to you," he said in that deep gutteral voice.

I didn't look at me when he stared at me. It was kind of hard to, yet I didn't know why. I wanted to scream at him "Take me with you! I can't stay with him! He'll treat me like a slave!" But I couldn't. I felt sick enough to not want to speak on my own. My uncle led me to the car and away from Sergeant Gordon, and Batman. I felt like I was being sent to my doom. A chilling execution that felt inhimane and cruel. So cruel, that I wished Edgar should have been poisoned with Crane's toxin. Like last time, I saw in the car in silence, as I took off my skates and chnged back to my shoes. I thought I would start crying as soon as I saw the manor of the Masons. I fought the urge to just go flying out of the car and race into the woods. Edgar was right. He would find me where I went. I carried my backpack and my suitcase as I followed my uncle inside the dark manor. I half expected to hear lightening strike outside. The place was actually pitch black and eerie enough to scare me. As I walked behind my uncle, I heard something in a closed room me passed. It sounded like someone was crying. But who? And why? Before I could even move toward the room, my uncle grabbed my arm roughly, and pulled me away. He dragged me to the end of the hallway, pushed me in my new room, and shut the door with a loud slam. He locked it before I had even touched the door knob. With useless effort, I tried to open it, until I was almost shaking the door.

(A/N: I don't own "Far Away" by Nickelback)

_This time, this place, misused, mistakes. Too long, too late, Who was I to make you wait? Just one chance. Just one breath. Just in case there's just one left. 'Cause you know, you know, you know..._

I felt tired and even more sick, when my hands started to go numb and sweaty, and my legs felt like jelly. As I steadied myself, I took a look around my new room. It almost looked like the Slytherin Common Room from Harry Potter. Sending shivers up my spine, I ddin't bother to change into my nightgown. Instead, I ust crash landed on my dark green bed, unconsious of the tears that streamed down my cheeks.

_That I love you. I have loved you all alone. And I miss you. Been far away for far too long. I keep dreaming you'll be with me, and you'll never go. Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore._

I tried to get some sleep. My head was aching, but my stomach hurt more. Every few seconds, I woud clutch my sides, and wince with eyes shut tightly. I buried my face in my pillow to muffle the cries I would seldom make of pain. Laying on my side on the hard rock bed, I faced the window. The moon shone on my face through the foggy night. I just stared at it with a pained expression. Through all the tiny sharp bites at my stomach, I saw a dark figure blocking the moon. I knew who it was, although I never bothered to open the window. Instead, I rushed to the bathroom.

_On my knees, I'll ask. Last chance for one last dance. 'Cause with you, I'd withstand all of hell to hold your hand. I'd give it all. I'd give for us. Give anything, but I won't give up. 'Cause you know, you know, you know..._

After I was done throwing up, I took deep breaths, and closed my eyes as I sat against the wall. Shaking, I tried to calm myself down.

_That I love you. I have loved you all alone. And I miss you. Been far away for far too long. I keep dreaming you'll be with me, and you'll never go. Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore_

I soon felt the coolness of a damp washcloth patting my cheeks and forehead. I didn't even hear the faucet go off, but I opened my eyes slowly to find the Batman bent down in front of me with the washcloth in his hand.

_So far away. Been far away for far too long. So far away. Been far away for far too long. But you know, you know, you know..._

Just seeing a person other than my relatives brought joy to me. I still felt sick, but I felt so much better. Involuntarily, I shook again. I hugged myself, and stayed stiff as if to stop the shakes. Feeling arms lift me up, I hung onto the Batman as he carried me out of the bathroom.

_I wanted, I wanted you to stay. 'Cause I needed, I need to hear you say..._

I rested on my bed, under the covers, shaking wthout warning. I'd let out shuddered gasps as each one came. The only medicine I was given to calm down were words of comfort from the gutteral voice of the Dark Knight. My guardian angel.

"Shh," he would say in the darkness. "Everything's fine. Let it pas...It will all pass soon,"

_I love you. I have loved you all along. And I forgive you for being away for far too long. So keep breathing, 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore. Believe it, hold on to me, and never let me go. Keep breathing, 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore. Believe it, hold onto me and never let me go._

Sleep was finally coming to and I squeezed in a couple of thoughts as I felt the washcloth on my head...I wonder what Bruce and Alfredare doing right now...What will Haley's wrath and school have in store for me?...Have I lost Ally and Nathan's friendship?...How long will I have to stay with Edgar?...Who was crying in that mysterious room?...Who is my parents killer?...Why did he want to kill me?...Who will save me in the end?...Batman will. Batman was the only one I could trust right now. And this is why:

He was always there.

_Keep breathing, hold onto me and never let me go. Keep breathing, hold onto me and never let me go._

(A/N: Review please. And ideas for upcoming chapters would be very helpful too)


	17. A Story To Tell

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I ran down the streets of Gotham as fast as I could. Hardly believing I overslept and was going to be late for school, I took short cuts. At first I thought of ditching school, but then I remembered I lived with Edgar now, and he would be furious with me. I'd rather take my chances with school, thanks. I was able to get to Gotham City Private 5 minutes before the bell rang. Before I was the most "popular girl in school", I was treated like dirt. Now, when my classmates stared at me, they looked disgusted and angry. It seemed that Haley Kingston's rumor mill had gone around overnight. I just stared straight ahead as I got my books and quickly went to my first class. When I walked in, I saw Ally and Haley sitting together. Ally didn't look at me, but Haley sneered at me as I sat as far away as possible when the bell rang. Miss Milan, the teacher, came in.

"All right," she announced. "Listen everyone. A lot of you did very poorly on last weeks test. And I know that most of you are participating on this Friday's performance, and you can't qualify unless you have a 70 or above. Due to lack of prepardness, I am seriously considering in disqualifying you all from the performance,"

The class groaned. Not only was Miss Milan an English teacher, but she was a choir teacher. I was in choir too, and this Friday's performance was supposed to be for the Fall Concert. Ally was partnered with Haley long before I came into the picture. Truth be told, I have never sung since my parents died, even when I started talking again. I just read or mouthed the words. My mother was once a singer too in school. They say she was the best. Bruce once told me she had the voice of an angel, and would sing me right to sleep when she hummed lullabies. I don't believe that anymore. Out of the corner of my eye, Haley raised her hand

"Miss Milan!" she cried. "There is no way we are cancelling Friday's concert,"

"I said I was considering Haley," Miss Milan explained. "Which is why I have an assignment for you in order to qualify if you still want to be in the concert,"

The whole class was eager to get this assignment. It was supposed to be a creative writing assignment and handed in by the end of Friday before the show. To be honest, I never signed up for the show, but I still started to write the paper anyway for extra credit or something. The whole class was silent to me, and I heard no sound other than the scratching of pen on my paper. I didn't know what I was going to write, but somehow my hand just flowed with words. i had no plot...just my life story in a different form.

_Once upon a time, there was a small village. In a little cottage, there lived a little gitl, who was no more than twelve. She lived happily with her mother and father and thought of nothing else outside the borders of the little village. But when her praents were away, their lives were taken by an evil wizard, whom was known to no one. Fearing for her life, the little girl ran off into the enchanted forest, full of witches and goblins, and children who lived in tall trees_

_On her way, the little gitl met two men: A wise old wizard accompanying a good prince, who had just returned to the kingdom from a long absense. The good prince told her bot to fear. He would take her in, and restore the love she had lost. And so she traveled with them, not knowing that an Evil King wanted her in a tall castle to become his slave._

_They had encountered the Evil King on their journey. He and the good prince fought for a while, while the wizard kept the little girl safe. When the dual was a draw, the good prince warned the Evil King never to come near the little girl. But these words were burned in the little girl's mind forever: "She Will Be Mine"_

_When night had fallen, the little girl had strayed from the group, and wandered into Goblin Territory. The goblins were vicious creatures, and treated the girl very badly. They were also very hungry, and their dinner was right in their grasp. Just as they were about to kill her, a knight dressed in black armor came to the rescue and saved the little girl from being goblin food. At first she was frightened, but when he saw the look in her eyes, he told her: "I am a friend, and the last thing I want to do is cause you harm"_

_But before the little girl could say her thanks, the Dark Knight had left her all on her own. On the way down the winding road as the sun rose, she came across a happy boy who loved to play in the woods. He took te girl by the hand and said: "Come with me to meet my sister, the Duchess, and she will make you a fair princess"_

_When the little girl met the Duchess, she was busy having a verbal battle with a witch. She was a beautiful witch, and was known for her cold heart throughtout the land. The witch noticed the girl and smiled wickedly_

_"Come with me," she said. "And I'll make you the most powerful of all,"_

_The girl was afraid, but the Duchess stepped in and said: "This girl will never be taught your wicked ways. She will become the most elegant princess in the kingdom,"_

_The witch was furious and disappeared from the room. Immedietly, the girl was dressed in fine clothes, and practically worshipped. And yet, she wasn't exactly happy. While wandering off into the corn fields on the country side near where she used to live, she stared at a lanky and limp scarecrow. In the distance, she saw a lovely maid working as hard as she could. At first, the Scarecrow tipped his hat off to the girl and maiden, but then the winds picked up, and the Scarecrow turned evil. Placing a curse upon the maiden, she immedietly saw what she most feared. Then came the Dark Knight, and fought the evil Scarecrow._

_He rescued the little girl and maiden, and saved the maiden from the curse that seemed unbreakable. He then brought the little girk back to the good prince to find the Evil King fighting with him. Sadly, the good prince lost, and took the little girl away, and locked her in the tallest tower of his scary castle. When the sun--_

I stopped a bit after that sentence...That's it. I don't know what I want the ending to be. What happens to the little girl? Does she run away, never to be seen again? Does she g oback to the Good Prince? Down she rush to the Dark Knight for help?...Or does she stay with the Evil King locked in her prison, and hidden away from the rest of the world? I jumped when the bell rand, gathered my things, and rushed to my next class: Gym. I absolutely hate that class. I have no athletic ability whatsoever. Plus, we were playing dodgeball today, to make it even worse. So there I stood, in a dark green shirt, and black sweatpants, next to a bunch of my classmates, as Josh and Haley (the chosen team captains) picked us out.

"I pick Ally," Haley started first

I looked down a bit. That meant I wouldn't be on the same team with my best friend...At least I thought she was still my friend

"Bryan," Josh said.

"Kyle,"

"Robbie"

"Clara"

"Zach"

"Crissy"

"Sarah"

I snapped my head up from looking at the ground. Usually, I get picked last for games like this. What I really couldn't believe though, was that I was picked by Josh. Slowly, I pulled myself away from the waiting students, and to my team, opposing Haley. I was with mostly boys, but I didn't mind. I just didn't understand why Josh picked my to be on his team. Dodgeballs were set across the dividing line. I stole a glance at Josh before the game started. He looked like he didn't want to look anyone in the eye. When dodgeball started, everyone on the opposing team wanted to throw a dodgeball at me. And hard. Man, I hated this game. I'm always the one to get picked on. Still, I tried to make the most of it, and dodged everything in my path. Some people on my team were hit, and had to go sit on the benches. Pretty soon, Josh and I were the only ones left on our team. I couldn't believe I had made it this far into the game. On the other side, Haley, and two other girls were left to try and get us out. Ally was out a long time ago. One girl threw a dodgeball at Josh, and he caught it. That meant that the girl was out. In a rage, Haley and the other girl pelted dodgeballs at us, with no success. Josh was able to get the other girl out. But as he threw the ball he had, Haley caught him off-guard, and hit him hard in the stomach. It had to be painful. I watched him fall to the ground, clutching his side in pain. He was crying out a bit. I couldn't understand. The balls didn't even hit that hard to injure you. What was wrong? The next thing I knew, I was running toward him.

"Time out!" I shouted at the coach as I bent down next to my cousin. "Josh, are you okay?"

Josh didn't answer me as kids from our team, and even Haley's team, circled around Josh and I. Two boys put Josh's arms around their shoulders and led him out of the gym. Before I turned away, I heard him mummble my name. I went to his side as he mummbled another thing:

Adam Gerons

I stood there puzzled a bit. Adam Gerons. Who was he? A student? Teacher? Someone I should know? I turned to find Haley with an evil smile. Anger rising inside of me, I went toward her and made her look at me.

"You hurt my cousin," I said with courage. "You have to apologize to him,"

...Where was this sudden urge to defend my cousin coming from? We didn't even get along that well. Haley sneered at me.

"I'll apologize," she started. "...If you apologize about ruining my **_6 thousand dollar dress_**,"

Somehow, I knew she was going to bring that up. I stood my ground.

"I'll apologize for your stupid dress," I growled. "If you apologize what you said about my parents, and what you did to Josh,"

"And I'll apologize for your parents and Josh, if you apologize for being a freak,"

"...Look who's talking,"

By this time, there were kids around us, and they all whispered to each other about the comment I made to Haley. I didn't care if I hurt her feelings. Besides, all I got from her was a look of shock as I turned away to go to the locker rooms.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Did you just call me a freak? Me?"

I turned around and glared.

"Well," I said softly. "Look who decided to grow some brains,"

"No," Haley shook her head. "That's not right. You're a freak. You're not as pretty as me, or popular, or--"

"Do you honestly think I care?"

With that, I turned away from the group with a small smile on my face.

* * *

After school, I heard my name being caled on the intercom to report to Miss Milan's room at once. I thought it was just to talk to me about my grade on last weeks test. I knew it didn't got that well, and I didn't study as much as I should. But this was different. When I came through the door of the classroom, Miss Milan was sitting at her desk reading something. She gestured me to have a seat, and I did so when she looked at me.

"Did you write this?" she asked me, pointing to the paper she was reading

I stared at the paper. Soon realizing it was in my handwriting, I found that it was my creative writing paper. I must've accidently left it on my desk this morning. Quickly, I tried to save myself.

"Yes, I did," I said quickly. "But it was only just for fun. I was going to write soething else--"

"Sarah, I'm not angry," Miss Milan stopped me. "...It's just...This is a really good story,"

I stopped babbling nonsense, and was dumbfounded. She liked what I wrote? I couldn't believe it.

"You like it?" I asked.

"Of course. It's very creative...I'm guessing you're the little girl, and your godfaher is the Good Prince,"

I nodded. It was kind of obvious. I don't know if Miss Milan got the rest of the story.

"I would like to keep it and show it to the other English teachers," Miss Milan continued. "Sarah, do you know what your grade is in this class?"

I shook my head.

"Including the extra credit questions you've done on previous occasions, your grade, at the most, is at least 104,"

My eyes were wide. Usually grades go up to 100, which was the highest. I just never thought I was that good in English. Miss Milan a bunch of other questions like, did I have anything planned after I graduate, what books I've read, etc. When I told her, I found that I had read most of last summer's reading list. The one's I haven't read was "Freak the Mighty" and "A Little Princess". When she asked me if she could call my relatives, and tell them the "good news", I quickly replied "No". My uncle really didn't care about my schoolwork. I walked out of the school with a small smile on, proud of my little accomplishment.Suddenlt, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh walking down the street and into the city. I was wondering how he was doing, so I followed him discreetly. After all, I didn't have to go back to Mason Manor in any form other than walking...And I wanted to know who this Adam Gerons was.

* * *

Late that same afternoon, Bruce was working on covering up the well in the burned-up garden. It had been a long day: He and Alfred had to move into a penthouse in the city, he fired William Earle from his job, and gave it to Lucius Fox, and other things. After he had finished boarding up the last plank, he saw someonw coming to him, stepping over the debris of the previous inferno...Rachel had found out last night. She found out he was Batman. After she woke up in the cave, she was told to find Gordon after she was given a sedative, and give him his antidote. After a few hours of sleeping again, she quickly made her way to the Narrows, and met with Gordon. Unfortunetly, she wasn't able to get back to the bridge in time. When a little boy was in trouble, she stayed with him as she watched men start up some sort of machine. See, what it did was, it vaporized all the water, and Crane's toxin had gotten into the air. Through all the chaos, she and the boy were chased down the treacherous streets of the Narrows by Crane. It was almost as if he was imitating the Headless Horseman from Rip Van Winkles "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", because he chased them on a horse with his frightening Scarecrow mask on! But Rachel had gotten the better of him (With her taser gun), and he rode away, howling in pain. However, they were cornered by escapees from Arkham Asylum. Just when all hope was lost, they were saved by none other than the Batman himself. Before he had a chance to leave her, Rachel wanted to know his name. His real name. All Batman said was this:

"It's not who I am underneath. But what I **_do_** that defines me,"

And that's how she found out. At first she didn't understand. But after going over the pieces of the puzzle, she figured it made sense. Bruce and Rachel stared at each other for what seemed like years. As if trying to get to know one another. Bruce started first.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you Rachel--" he said softly.

"No Bruce," Rachel interuppted. "I'm sorry. The day that Chill died, I...I said terrible things,"

Bruce nodded.

"But true things," he commented. "I was a coward with a gun, and justice is about more than revenge, so thank you,"

A small smile lit up Rachel's face as she walked toward Bruce to be closer to him.

"I never stopped thinking about you," she confessed. "About us...And when I heard you were back, I...I started to hope,"

At this point, Rachel and Bruce were so close, the could wrap each other in their arms. They would cherish this moment forever. Within moments, they shared a quiet, passionate kiss. It was one that they had always wished for when they were kids, but thought it would never come.Rachel broke the kiss, and looked down a bit, as Bruce wondered what was wrong, and why they had to stop their beautiful moment.

"Then I found out about your mask," she added.

"Batman's just a symbol, Rachel," Bruce said softly.

Rachel shook her head as she placed a hand on Bruce's face.

"No," she replied. "This is your mask...Your real face is the one that criminals now fear. The man I loved...The man who vanished...He never came back at all...But maybe he's still out there somewhere. Maybe someday when Gotham no longer needs Batman, I'll see him again,"

Bruce nodded a bit, understanding the position Rachel was in. He knew it would be dangerous for her. But he couldn't help but feel sad. For a while now, he had wondered what it would be like if Rachel loved him back. Together, he and Rachel walked back to the main grounds, holding hands, where Alfred was waiting.

"You proved me wrong you know," Rachel strted.

"About what?' Bruce wondered.

Rachel smiled.

"Your father would be very proud of you," she replied. "Just like me...And you're a good godfather. Jennifer wouldn't thank you enough,"

Bruce sighed.

"If Jennifer were alive," he started. "She would never speak to me again,"

"What happened?" Rachel asked.

"I've lost custody, Rachel,"

Rachel's eyes were wide.

"What?" she whispered. "Edgar took her! How did this happen?"

"Edgar had a warrent to take her in case anything hppened," Bruce replied. "...You should've seen the way she looked at me when he took her away. She looked betrayed and scared. During the chaos last night, she ran off looking for me...Looking for Batman,"

"That would explain this then,"

From her pocket, Rachel pulled out a folded piece of paper. Opening it, she revealed the drawing of the bat with the golden heart. Bruce took it in his hands, and studied out as he took out the locket Sarah left behind.

"She doesn't know does she?" Rachel asked.

"No," Bruce shook his head. "She's smart, but evern since Luke and Jennifer died, she can't tell who anybody is. She can't trust them. I'm still a stranger to her. Remember? And I left when she was about 5. She doesn't even know me that well,"

"She seems to know Batman pretty well...I'll tell you what. I'll go down to City Hall, and see what I can dig up. In the meantime, why don't you figure out how you're going to tell your goddaughter that you're Batman?"

Bruce nodded a bit, knowing that sooner or later, the truth would have to come out

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Review please!)


	18. CAP

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins" and Celia belongs to a friend of mine

Where was Josh going? Mason Manor was the other way. Why was he heading into the city? I followed my cousin down the busy sidewalks that afternoon. I was worried about him a little bit. That dodgeball that hit him must have hurt a lot. As the sun was setting and school buses passed me by, I found Josh going into a big building. A sign above the door in large gold letters said that it was "Gotham Community Center". I rushed to the window to look through, but it was too fogged up. So, I decided to go inside. The hallways were covered in drawings made by younger kids, and some bordered wallpaper that had animated kids holding hands, and standing on the world. Phones were ringing from far away, and laughter in a room nest to me. As I was looking around, I heard another noise...It was barking. The next thing I knew, a full grown German Shepard put its front paws on my shoulders, licking my face. I was laughing because it tickled my cheeks, but I was wondering what a dog was doing in a community center.

"Dib!" shouted a voice. "Get off! Sorry, are you all right?"

I looked to find a girl my age dressed in a black shirt with a weird green creature on it and jeans. Her black hair wih strange purple streaks fell about her face, covering half of her rectangular glasses.

"I'm fine, thanks," I replied as Dib the German Shepard got off of me. "What's he doing here?"

"I'm babysitting a bunch of six year olds," the purple-black haired girl answered. "I brought him over from the Animal Shelter, where I volunteer. I'm Celia,"

"Sarah," I said, smoothing my uniform.

It took only a moment for me to see that Celia was sizing me up with her eyes.

"You a prep?" she asked.

"What?" I asked. "No, I--"

"Meh, you dress like one. Look like one too,"

Obviously this girl had an issue with preps. To be honest, I never wondered how I should label myself. To me, labeling a person is just like going to a butcher shop and picking out what's the best and worst meat. I'd like to think that I'm the in-between label girl. Although, I kind of wish that it was that way at school. Celia gathered the leash from Dib's collar, and started to walk out of the door. As long as she's here, maybe I could ask her about Josh,.

"Have you seen my cousin?" I asked her as she stopped. "He's my age, a little taller than me, spikey brown hair..."

Celia furrowed her eyebrows.

"Josh Mason?" she asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "You know him?"

"Yeah, I know him. You're Sarah Chante though, right? I thought you looked familiar,"

My stomach chruned as I looked down. I wanted to hide my face, which had already been identified. I thought no one would recognize me. Guess I was wrong.

"Hey, it's okay," Celia reassured. "I'm not gonna ask for your autograph or anything. But, sure, I know your cousin. He's upstairs, fourth door on the left,"

I smiled a bit, and started to go upstairs, when Celia spoke again.

"Do you know?" she asked.

Puzzled, I turned to face her. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Know what?" I asked.

Celia sighed a bit. It was as if I should've known something for a while. After she tied off her dog to a bench leg, she took me upstairs. We passed all kinds of different people. Some looked homeless, some looked like they were on drugs, and some looked deathly sick. Not only was this a community center, but I realized that it was also some kind of rehabilitation facility. But why would Josh be in reabilitation. Celia and I finally reached a closed door with a fog glass window. On it, it said in bold letters:

**C.A.P**

Below in italicize said:

_Children of Abusive Parents_

I had to read the sign again. Abusive parents? I thought Edgar loved Josh! Mainly of teasing me, and making me cry.

"He started coming here two years ago," Celia started. "You know, just to hang out. He'd go in the rec room and just watch cartoons. Then one day--Hey! Where you going?"

Not listening to another word, I opened the door and walked in. The sight I sw was a bit strange. Kids of different ages and personalities were holding hands in a circle, and bowing their heads as if in prayer. Celia came up behind me. I saw many things that alarmed me. One girl in a hoodie had a bruise on her face that was still purple and fresh. A boy had a few cuts on his arms and cheeks. Josh seemed to be like the only one unharmed. Although I knew better. Celia sighed.

"Sad, huh?" she asked. "

Slowly I nodded. It all made sense somehow. I think it was the reason why Josh was being so mean to me.

"Why didn't he tell anyone?" I asked.

Celia looked at me weird.

"Would you?" she asked. "These kids have nowhere to go but here for help. For friends...for family...They come here to be loved,"

I can understand that.

"So," I whispered. "These kids won't tell anyone because they're scared,"

Celia shrugged.

"It's different for anyone who's been abused," she said. "Josh's story started 2 years ago. After his grandparents died, his dad started drinking. Not much at first, just like 2 a week. You know, one for the week, and one for those real late nights. But...last month, that's when he really started to hit Josh. Before it was just verbal abuse, but then...Well, I'm sre you can piece together the rest,"

There were times when I thought I would started crying for Josh...He was the one crying in that mysterious room. If only I had known, I could've stopped it. I could've done something about it. Watching the group with Celia in the back, I wondere how Josh could live like this...One of these days, I'm gonna do something for him, to make it all right. Some girl with an earring on her eyebrow went and started a CD player. Celia turned to me.

"I hear them all the time when I'm up here to babysit," she explained. "You ever seen the movie **RENT**?"

Silentle, I shook my head.

"There's a group like this one, and they sing sometimes about their problems. Just listen,"

The CD player started to play a soft guitar music. The CAP Kids held hands, and went into their prayer-like mode for moments of listening to a song that touched their hearts...and mine. A song called "Will I Lose My Dignity?" played in my soul. It made me feel more than sad. It made me feel angry to know that kids my age were being abused. It snapped me in hald to know that my cousin was being beaten. I wanted to cry so hard.

(A/N: I don't own "Will I Lose My Dignity?" from RENT)

_Will I Lose My Dignity? Will Someone Care? Will I Wake Tomorrow From This Nightmare?_

Celia put a hand on my shoulder and left the room quietly as I still stood there, listening to the soft words. No one was singing. Just holding onto each other to keep their life in motion and entact. Tears stramed down my face as I walked slowly toward my cousins group. When they saw me for the first time, the opened a space for me. They welcomed me with open hands.

_Will I Lose My Dignity? Will Someone Care? Will I Wake Tomorrow From This Nightmare?_

I placed a hand in the bruised face girl with one hand, and the guy with cuts with the other. Looking up, Josh stared at me with puzzled eyes. I think it was the first time I've seen him without a look of hatred on his face.

_Will I Lose My Dignity? Will Someone Care? Will I Wake Tomorrow From This Nightmare?_

Something insde me was stirring. It was warm and soft. It was a comforting blanket that was draping around me by someone I trusted. My eyes closed as I listened to the music. The words poured into my soul, lifting my spirit up. My mouth slowly opened as I listened to the next round.

_Will I Lose My Dignity? Will Someone Care? Will I Wake Tomorrow From This Nightmare?_

It was rising. Coming up my throat. I didn't know what it was, but I wasn't afraid. I let it happened...I started to sing softly with my tears

_Will I Lose My Dignity? Will Someone Care? Will I Wake Tomorrow From This Nightmare? __Will I Lose My Diginty? Will Someone Care? Will I Wake Tomorrow From This Night? Will I Lose?__Will I Lose?_

The song was over. I had my eyes closed. I didn't know why I had sung the words, nor did I knew how pretty I could sing. I know that sounds vain, but I only thought that because it almost sounded like my mother. Opening my eyes, the group was looking at me. At first, I thought they were looking at me strange, but they weren't. They were smiling at me, as if I had done something extraordinary...I never forgot the look on Josh's face

* * *

"How did you find me?" Josh asked me.

We were walking down the orange sidewal as the sun started to set. I smiled a bit. Josh was really content now. It almost made me wonder if he was really my cousin or not.

"I was kind of worried about you since dodgeball," I explained. "I wanted to know if you were all right. So I followed you,"

Josh was puzzled.

"Why?" he asked me. "Why were you worried about me? I mean, I called you names, I hit you, I broke your locket, and I played tricks on you. Why are you being so nice to me?"

I stopped on the sidewalk, and put a hand on Josh's shoulder...I swear, he flinched a bit when I touched it.

"Because, believe it or not," I started. 'You were nice to me first...Josh, I want to help you. I know what's going on,"

Josh's eyes went wide

"How did you find out?" he asked.

"Celia told me," I answered.

"Celia Henderson? The girl with the purple streaks in her heair?"

I shrugged.

"Yeah," I answered. "She's nice,"

Josh groaned.

"She promised she wouldn't say anything," he whined. "...And she's not that nice,"

I shook my head, and laughed a bit...But then I wanted to know something.

"Josh," I said softly. "You also mentioned someone at school. Adam Gerons right?...Who is he?"

Josh was silent at that. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but it wasn't necessarily a comfortable one either. It was a deathly silence that both of us wouldn't want to break, for fear of saying something without thinking. But I knew Josh wouldn't tell him. Maybe all the stuff I knew about him was wearing him down. I can wait a little bit longer to find out who Adam Gerons was. Suddenly, the clock tower at City Hall chimed 7 o'clock. Josh and I looked at each other.

"Oh no," I whispered.

"If we're not home--"Josh started.

We didn't finish. Instead, we took off running together down the streets of Gotham. Mason Manor wasn't that far. It stood just outside the city. So, lucky us. But I knew we wouldn't be so lucky if we arrived home late. At times, we had to stop and catch our breath for a moment, but Josh and I were able to make it back. As I started for the steps, though, Josh grabbed me and pulled me away.

"What are you doing?" I asked loudly as I struggled.

"Shh," Josh whispered. "Don't go that way. That's the first place he'd look. Go another way. I'll stall him for as long as I can...Hey. Isn't that your godfather's car in the driveway?"

* * *

"WHERE IS SHE?" shouted Edgar. "And don't give me this 'I have no idea' crap! I know you know! I know she went to you after school!"

Bruce's eyes were wide at this. Half an hour ago, he had recieved a call from Edgar Mason to come and speak with him. Instead, he was being yelled at. Sarah and Josh were missing, and he was starting to get worried that she ran away.

"I'm telling you the truth," Bruce explained. "I haven't seen or spoken to Sarah since last night,"

"Yes, yes," Edgar paced in the parlor. "Right before you set fire to your mansion. I know. But that still gives no excuse as to why my niece and my son haven't shown up at the door,"

"They're only kids Edgar. I'll call the police,"

"**_No police_**!...And who are you to decided how I should handle the finding of my son, and ward?"

Bruce sighed a bit. He forgot. Sarah doesn't live with him anymore. The two billionaires heard the front door all of a sudden. Josh soon came into view as he walked passed the parlor's entry door.

"Hey," he said casually as he walked in.

"Where's the girl?" Edgar immedietly growled. "And where were _you_?"

Josh shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "She told me she was coming back here on the bus. I went with a couple of friends to Starbucks an studied for Friday's test,"

Bruce looked at Edgar. The man did not look too happy. He stared at the boy with such disdain. Although, Bruce had no idea what was going on. Edgar moved out of the parlor, and up the black, bleak marble stairs.

"If she is not up there in her room," he started. "Your butt is grounded for the rest of your life, and you Mr. Wayne will face my wrath,"

The young billionair didn't like the fact that he was being threatened. And to think he was bringing Sarah into this. Bruce followed quickly behind Edgar and Josh down the hall.

"Edgar," he started. "Wait. What if she's not there? What if she's at a friends, or the library--"

"She knows the rules," Edgar growled. "She wouldn't dare defy me,"

"And if she ever did?"

Edgar said nothing as they neared Sarah's room. Opening the door with a swift move, he strode into the dark room.

"Scummy!" he shouted.

However, no answere came. The only sight Edgar, Josh, and Bruce saw was Sarah, tucked safely in her bed, asleep. It was as if she had been there the whole time and had done nothing to upset anyone. From the corner of his ete, Bruce saw Josh breathe a sigh of relief as he slipped something bulky behind the wardrobe closet.Then he looked, and with a faint smile, saw the window open, the curtains rustling from the soft blow of the wind. Edgar looked dumbstruck.

"How--," he stuttered. "She--That--"

"Wait outside a moment, Mr. Mason," Bruce suggested.

Surprisingly, Edgar moved out of the room as Bruce closed the window silently, locking it, and moved toward the bed. Sitting on it, he gently bent over and whispered in his goddaughters ear.

"I know you're awake," he whispered. "Listen to me. Tomorrow, I'm going to pick you up from school. There are some things you need to know. And it's important that you don't tell anyone..I'm trying to get you back,"

From the inside of his coat pocket, Bruce pulled out something in gift-wrapping paper. On the top, something bulged out. It was odd, because the rest of the gift was rectangular.

"Under your bed," he said as he put it under the bed. "You will find where you can reach me, and two other things that you're going to need...You will always have someone to keep you safe,"

At this moment, Sarah opened her eyes and stared at her godfather. Bruce smiled a bit for reassrance.

"Bruce," she said softly. "About what I said about your parents...I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry. I'll--"

"Hey," Bruce smiled. "I understand...You loved them very much. Get some sleep,"

Sarah nodded, and supposedly went back to sleep as Bruce slipped out of the room. Closing the door, he turned and glared at Edgar. Josh had sought refuge in his room, so the two men were alone. Bruce started to walk away, leaving.

"If I find out that you've been mistreating her," he said as he walked down the stairs. "**You** will face **my** wrath,"

(A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it. It's not my best chapter, I know that. And it's short too. Sorry about that. It's all I had for now. Here are a couple of notes. Celia is just a supporting character for now, just in case you're wondering. I'm not putting in new people at the last minute. And I thought that Will I Lose My Dignity? was the perfect song to put on here, I just had to do it. Hope you guys liked it. Review please)


	19. Face Down

Dislcaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I sighed in my sleep. I actually slept pretty well, knowing that everything would turn out all right in the end. The bed didn't seem hard rock anymore, and the sheets didn't feel at all scratchy. I felt like I was in a small safe little cottage hidden deep in a dark forest. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the alarm clock on my nightstand...10:35! I overslept again. Jumping out of bed, I rushed to put on my uniform, which was hidden under my bed. Last night, while Josh was distracting Edgar, I climbed the fence with vines up to my room. I was able to get through the window, change into my pajamas, and jump into bed before Edgar and Bruce looked in my room. Hopping on one foot to put on one of my belt buckled shoes, I headed toward the door. But when I turned the doorknob, it only turned a short distnce away. Scared, I tried to open the door to get out.

"What's happening?" I asked softly to myself

After much effort, I stopped and backed away from the door. I couldn't believe what was going on, although I didn't know fully what **was** going on.

"Sarah," said a voice. "Sarah, you there?"

I stood tehre on the spot. Great. Now I'm starting to hear voices. Wimpering a bit, I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Oh man," I groaned. "I'm going insane in this house,"

"Sarah," the voice said again. "It's me Josh,"

"Wha--Josh?"

"There's a walkie-talkie right behind the wardrobe closet next to the door. Get it,"

Obeying, I bent down beside the side of the wardobe closet, and looked underneath. Sure enough, there was a walkie talkie, a small red light showing it's power. I pulled it out, and stood up, pushing the speaker button.

"Josh?" I asked into the speaker.

"Hey, you okay?" Josh asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on?"

"...Oh man, Sarah. He's mad. He's really mad,"

"Who?"

"My dad! He locked us in our rooms! Sarah, you've got to get out of here!"

"I can't! And even if I could, no way! I am no leaving you,"

"Just find yourself a way out,"

There was silence so that meant Josh was done talking to me for now. Letting my hand holding the walkie talkie fall to my side, I sat down on my bed with utter disbelief. I looked around the room as if it were a different and scary place. But it was. I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them on my bed. It was like that for a while, but then I remembered what Bruce said to me the last night. Reaching off the edge of the bed from where Bruce had been sitting, I felt around for something. What I felt was something wrapped in present paper. Pulling it out, I ran my fingers along the smooth gift wrap. Something bulged at the top, and I felt around its edges...It was in the shape of a heart. Neatly unwrapping the gift, I saw my locket, lying on top of a hard bound book. I opened my locket, and stared at my parents picture...I can't believe I wanted to leave this behind. Suddenly, I heard a jiggle from the door knob. Frightened, I gathered the book, quickly put the locket around my neck, put the piece of paper where I could reach Bruce in my vest pocket (It was sticking out of the book), and hid it under the wardrobe closet before Edgar walked in the door. When I saw him, I knew for sure that whatever trouble Josh was in, Edgar was going to drag me into it. In his hand, there was a cordless phone. Putting it on the nightstand, he stared at me with a load of disgust. A deadly silence filled the room. And then WHAM! A huge fist knocked the wind from my stomach. I made an involuntary "umph" and sat on my bed, holding my stomach. Part of me was in pain, and the rest was pure shock. I knew my uncle hated me, but I didn't know he would actually hit me. He tossed the phone to me

"Call Bruce Wayne," he snarled. "Tell him you won't be attending school today, and that you are ill,"

I furrowed my eyebrows, putting on an act.

"What are talking about?" I asked.

SMACK! So much for the act. I was slapped across the face.

"Do it," Edgar demanded again. "I know what he said to you last night,"

He overhead us. Slowly, I pulled the number on the slip of paper out of my pocket. I never left the sight of Edgars eyes as I waited for someone to pick up the phone.

"Wayne Residence," a voice came on.

It was Alfred. Sighing a bit with relief, I faked a sick like voice.

"Aflred," I coughed a bit. "It's Sarah,"

"Miss Sarah, what can I do for you?" Alfred asked, always ready to take orders.

"I'm sick at the Masons. Can you tell Bruce that he won't be able to see me today?"

"Yes, but would you like him or me to come and check on you?"

I looked to Edgar, who was shaking his head dangerously. Not wanting to get him or Bruce into this, I lied to Alfred.

"No," I said softly. "That won't be necessary. I'll just rest. Thanks anyway Alfred,"

"Feel better soon,"

I nodded and hung up the phone. Holding my still aching stomach, and touching my stinging cheek, I looked at my uncle. He had a sick pumpkin grin on his face. When I started to leave, I spoke in a soft voice.

"You're so abusive," I explained. "...Two hits from you feel like ten, and yet...I know something you don't know,"

"And what knowledge do you posess that I don't know?"

I smiled softly a bit.

"I can't tell you," I said. "It's a secret...And I'm afraid to say it,"

Edgar just scoffed and closed my door, locking it. So, I'm confined to my room for the rest of the day.

* * *

"OK," Rachel nodded. "Thanks Alfred,"

Rachel was at the D.A's office on the phone. She was with Bruce too, trying to figure out anything to get Sarah back. As Rachel hung up the phone, Bruce looked at his watch, got up from looking at a pile of government papers on the table he was sitting at, and started to put on his long black coat.

"I'll be back" he said, getting ready to go out the door. "Sarah's about to get out of school,"

"Bruce," Rachel looked up from her notes. "I just got off the phone with Alfred, and he told me that Sarah called and said she was sick earlier today...And the part that worries me was that he said she sounded fine,"

Bruce hesitated, sighed, and took off his coat.

"Edgar heard me," he threw his coat on a nearby chair. "I'll see her tonight,"

"As Batman?" Rachel inquired.

"Well, if Mason won't let Bruce Wayne in, then yeah,"

"Right, well, before you go jumping off rooftops, I found some things. Insignificant, though. Just Sarah's birth certificate, school records..."

Bruce went over to the computer and looked at it over Rachel's shoulder.

"What about Edgar?" he asked.

"Last week," Rachel started. "He filed a report to the judge asking for a trial of custody. But then it was cancelled about 2 days before he filed a warrent to take Sarah. Josh's trial on his attack was cancelled too,"

"What for?"

"I don't know. Did Luke and Jennifer have any objections to Edgar raising Sarah? Did Jennifer say anything to you before you disappeared,"

"I can't remember,"

Rachel sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"I wish I knew," she said. "But I didn't see Jennifer and Luke that much since I started working as an Assistant D.A. So, I wouldn't know either,"

Bruce nodded a bit, grabbed his coat, and put it back on.

"I have some things to do," he explained as he headed out the door. "Let me know if there's any changes,"

* * *

_"And above all,you are to stay in your room until I have some unquenchable need to speak to you, and you are to stay out of the attic, the room in the east wing, and my office,"_

Somehow, I heard these words for the past few hours inside my head. I couldn't ge tthem out of my mind. Looking to the window, I saw the sun setting, getting ready to sleep for the night. Throughout the whole day, I did nothing by pace around my room, trying to think of a way to get a hold of someone for help. I tried to see if Josh had anything planned, but it seemed he didn't. We ran out of ideas before noon...That's it. I have got to get out of this room, and see why Edgar forbid me to go into certain rooms. Finding a hair pin tucked away in my duffle bag, I worked to pick the lock (I didn't know why I didn't think of this before). It took me about 10 minutes before I heard a soft click. Putting the hair pin in my vest pocket with Bruce's number, I unlocked Josh's door, where the key was sticking out. The moment he head it unlocking, he raced outside as soon as I opened the door.

"You OK?" I asked.

"Yeah," Josh nodded. "How'd you get out?"

"Picked the lock. Listen, I need you to do me a favor. Go o your dad's office, and find any kind of information. Anything is practically good,"

"Why?"

"Your dad told me that there are 3 rooms I'm not allowed in: The attic, the room in the east wing, and his office. I want to know why,"

Josh looked scared.

"Those rooms are off limits for a reason!" he protested.

"All I'm asking for you isto look in his office," I explained. "That's it...Josh, please. This is my last favor. I have to know what he keeps in there. It's been bugging me since this morning,"

"OK, let me get this straight: All of a sudden, you want to know why you can't go in. And you want me to go down the point of no return, and see what it is that my dad has forbiddon you, **for good reason**, to not go in,"

"That's all I want,"

"...I must be out of my mind,"

So it was settled. Josh was going to look in his dad's office, while I went to the attic and east wing. I walked at a normal pace. Edgar wouldn't be back for another hour or so from work, so Josh and I were safe for now. I decided to start with the attic, which seemed to be the most darkest rooms in Mason Manor. When I reached the door, I picked the lock with ease this time. The whole place was dark. I tried to turn on the light, but the bulb went out at the first click. All I caught was just a quick glimpse of what was inside. So, I had to trust my instincts. After all, I was kind of getting used to seeing in the dark. I stepped over dead rats, and slipped under cobwebs as I made my way through the attic. I had to admit, I'd much rather sleep in here than my room downstairs. As I neared the back of the attic, I saw a box with assorted things sticking out. My hands reached out to it, and I searched through the box. Inside, there was a doll dressed in a Victorian white dress with black hair and eyes...like the one I slept with when I was six...THere was a pearl necklace...like the one my mother wore on her wedding day from the pictures I've seen...And there was a Gotham City Police Badge with my fathers name on it. I had come to realize that this was the stuff from the apartment I liced in the Narrows. Why would Edgar want my stuff? Most of it was just junk, and useless to him. Then my mind came to be at the room in the east wing. Immdietly, I raced out of the attic, downstairs, and straight to my forbiddon destination. Whatever was in that room had something to do with me. No wonder Edgar didn't want me to go into these rooms. He had something that I couldn't know. That he'd be furious with me if I found it. I opened the door in the east wing, and stopped. I swear, I thought I was dreaming or somthing because the room I was in shouldn't even be in Mason Manor. Everything was either creamy white or light gold, kind of like my old room back at Wayne Manor. I looked around with wonderous awe. Everything was neat and tidy. On the desk, though, by the window was a black book with gold lettering on the corner. On it, it said:

**THE DIARY OF JENNIFER GINERVA MASON**

This was my mothers room! This was her diary! Not hesitating one bit, I took the diary in my hands, sat on the bed, and read it. There were lots of passages that made me laugh, some cry, nd some happy. It was like I could hear her voice again. I particulary liked her entries about how she met my father, and how this one time, she, Bruce, and Rachel snuck out to go to this popular guy's graduation party when she was 18. Rachel protested some of the time, but had a great night. She even almost kissed Bruce! My mom thought they were onto something, but Rachel later explained they got their senses togethor. I had to admit, Bruce and Rachel would seem like a great couple. I kept reading the diary until the sun wento down...and then I heard someone scream.

"AAGH!"

I dropped the book on the floor, and whipped my head to the door. Josh was in trouble. Blaming myself for staying in one place for too long, I raced out toward Josh's screaming

(A/N: I don't own "Face Down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus)

_Hey girl you know you drive me crazy. One look puts the rhythm in my hand. Still I'll never understand why you hang around. I see what's going down_.

I found my way to Edgar's office, and my eyes bulged. There was Edgar, with Josh being punched by his own fists. Without even thinking, I plunged myself into the chaos, trying to pry Edgar off of my cousin.

"Stop it!" I screamed. "Leave him alone"

_Cover up with make up in the mirror. Tell yourself it's never gonna happen again.You cry alone and then he swears he loves you._

SLAP! WAM! SNAP! I was hit, and on the ground. When I caught myself, the floorboard underneath my right hand creaked loudly. I didn't know why, but it caught my attention for just a moment before I was dragged to my feet by my hair.

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around? Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?_

I held my head to refrain from screaming out loud. My eyes squeezed out tears of pain, but my words were dripping with anger.

"You're drunk," I spat.

"So what if I am?" Edgar hissed in my ear.

After this, I was thrown across the room, rolling on top of the coffee table.

_Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end as your lies crumble down. A new life she has found._

I landed on the floor again with a grunt. Feeling the bruises appear on my skin, I heard Josh scream again as Edgar started on him once more. I tried to get up, but I was temporarily weak...I won't be anymore for long.

_A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect every action in this world will bear a consequence. If you wade around forever you will surely drown. I see what's going down_.

With each hit, I heard a scream, and it wasn't mine. It was almost killing me to hear it. Within a foot away from meI saw a hard bound book that lay on the floor. Painfully, turning on my stomach, I reached for it. When I finally got to it, I threw it with all my might at Edgar's head. It hit him and he yelled out, letting go of Josh, who crawled backwards into a corner. I stood up weakly, but strong and tall, as Edgar stared at me with surprise

_I see the way you go and say your right again, say your right again. Heed my lecture_

I lunged at him, trying to fight him back. Trying to show him what it's like to being pushed around. I struggled with him, stepping on that creaky floorboard more than once. I used all of my strength against him. I pushed him off of me, and attemped to run out of the room, with Josh by my side

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around? Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?_

But before I could step out of the door, I was grabbed at he waist, and thrown across the room. I crash landed against the front of the wooden desk, and hit my head on the creaky floorboard. Before I could get up, I collapsed again as Edgar walked toward me. I cralwed backwards, dragging my legs as I used my arms to get away from my uncle.

_Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end as your lies crumble down. A new life she has found._

He grabbed me by the collar, and sneered at my face. I could smell the foul stench of scotch on his breath. It almost made me want to puke. Instead, I spat on his face. That costed me dearly. SMACK! He punched me across the face

_Face down in the dirt she says, this doesn't hurt she says I finally had enough_

He hit me again and again. I cried out at every other stinging pain in my body. From the corner of my eye, I saw a sword on display on his desk. I reached for it.

_Face down in the dirt she says, this doesn't hurt she says I finally had enough_

With all the energy I had, I pushed Edgar off of me, and grabbed the sword off of his desk. I pointed the tip right in front of him

_One day she will tell you that she has had enough.Its coming round again_

Edgar backed away a bit from me. He was frightened. I had a sword in my hand, but I didn't know if it was a foil or real. Apparently, it looked like he probably didn't know what it was either...I was wrong. With an evil smile, he grabbed my wrist, twisted it behind my back, and grabbed the sword, breaking it in half. It was a foil. A fake.

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around? Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?_

With a loud scream, I was thrown down again to the ground, face first. Face down against the hard wooden floor. I hit the desk, and a small statue that was on the corner of it, fell and hit the creaky floorboard, breaking it open.

_Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end as your lies crumble down. A new life she has found._

Edgar left the room in a drunken rage. After he was sure he wasn't coming back, Josh came by my side trying to lift my head up. I tried to help out a bit, trying to support him with all the strength I had. For now, were both safe from Edgar.

"Are you okay?" Josh asked me.

"Are you?" I asked weakly.

Josh helped me sit against the desk, and I head my aching head. Taking a few deep breaths, my mind reeled through the nights events. Through the weeks. They took over my whol sub-concsious. To me, I was lucky to be awake. If I had been knocked unconsious, I would have a serious problem. I might never wake up, someone might get worried about me, and I would never have been able to ask this question.

"Josh," I whispered. "Who is Adam Gerons?"

I don't know why I asked that question. I said them without even thinking. It was as if my heart told me to ask that question. Josh looked at me, and shook his head. I didn't know what he was thinking. He stood up looking at me, a lump growing in his voice.

"He--" he choked out. "He--He killed your parents,"

With that, Josh ran out of the room, with my eyes bulging. Josh knew the name of my parents killer. But how? How could he know, and not tell me. My mind reeled again as I heard different phrases from the past weeks speak at the same time inside my head.

_"Master Wayne is alive,"_

_"I know how you feel"_

_"Well,well,well, look who showed up: The Scum of the Narrows"_

_"...Six feet under the ground, rotting..."_

_"...Even heroes can get hurt..."_

_"...Why do we fall?..."_

_"...It's what you do that defines you..."_

_"...The Princess of Gotham..."_

_"...It must drive you insane..."_

_"...An anagram is used to make up new words from another word"_

I stopped. An anagram. Why did that pop into my head all of a sudden? I remember Ally answered that question in English Class one day. Adam Gerons. Adam Gerons. Adam Gerons. Suddenly, the name sounded all too familiar. I didn't know why. Anagram...Adam Gerons...My parents murderer...And what would soon be my murderer if I didn't get to the bottom ofwhat his real name is. I didn't know if it was just coincidence or fate, but all of my knowledge seemed to have formed togethor in one big ball, jumbling all around, trying to find which pieces of the puzzle fit. I grabbed a piece of paper off the desk, and one of Edgar' expensive pens. Why did Adam Gerons sound familiar?...I wrote down the name, and tried to make a different name...Dan Magres? No, doesn't ring a bell...Sam Danger? Ugh, no connection...Gram Nads? Stupid! Stupid me! None of these names ring a bell. I put a head in my hand. Why did that name bug me? Why did it sound familiar? My mind reeled again, and I thought of the past few days...Why Edgar forbidded me to go into the rooms...Why I was locked away from Bruce and any other contact...Why he loved to see me fall apart...What if...Cross out the E, and put it first...the D, put it after...the G...the A...R...M...A...S...O...N...Cross out the A, and put it first just to be sure...then the D...the A...M...G...E...R...O...N...S...I dropped the pen, and looked at the broken creaky floorboard. Prying it open, I saw a black box. Taking it out, I opened it...A black gun lay inside, neatly in its place...On its holster was engraved the initials AG-EM...If Adam Gerons killed my parents, then that means...

**_Edgar Mason, my uncle, killed my parents._**

(A/N: Let me know what you guys think! I'm trying to get this done before May is over becaue A: I'm getting a job at Build-A-Bear B: I have a lead (Taylor) in a Summer Production of High School Musical and C: I really want to get this done. So let me know what you guys think, and what should happen next. Ideas are alway welcome. Review please)


	20. Refuge On The Roof

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I raced to my room, and opened the window wide. The cold air blew on me as I changed into my dark blue hoodie, and jeans. I wanted to go onto the roof. I wanted to be someplace safe. The roof was my only safe place. Frantically, I climbed out my window, nd pulled mysel up. I couldn't believe what I saw. I held my head and took deep breaths. My uncle killed my parents. How come I didn't see it before? Each gasp turned into nothin but muffled cries. My hands reached my throat. I needed air. I couldn't breathe. Literally. I couldn't breathe. I broke down. Falling to my knees, I sobbed quietly into my hands...No, I can't cry. I can't afford it anymore. Wiping my tears away, I crawled to a corner of the roof, and hugged myself. I want to sleep. I want to close my eyes and dream away this awful day and night. Desperatly, I want to fly away. Putting the hoodie over my head, I closed my eyes and rested. I was breathing regulary now. Maybe I had some sort of anxiety attack. The wind blew a bit hard, but I didn't mind. It felt good. It kissed my tear stained cheeks, drying them from any unhappiness. I thought I heard a woosh of air, but I declared it my imagination. However, I felt a hand brush stray hairs away from my face. Jolting out of my peaceful stage, I let out a gasp, but a sigh of relief as I saw the concerned face of Batman.

"Hi," I said softly.

"What are you doing up here?" the Batman askde me, his voice growling softly.

...Should I tell him? I don't know what to do. If I don't tell himabout being phyisically abused, and the true anger of my uncle, I'll be forever in captivity. But if I tell him, Batman will take me away from here, and keep me safe. But then I would still be in danger. What should I do?

"I wanted to think," I lied, shrugging. "I've had a lot on my mind lately,"

I think this is the first time I've ever lied to Batman. Let me tell you, it didn't feel good. I wn't be able to keep it up for long. Somehow, he'll find out what's going on.

"I climbed up here," I continued as I stood up, a bit of pain aching in my whole body

"You look weak," Batman commented as I walked to the other side of the roof

"Yeah, well, I've been sick again today,"

Another lie. I wasn't sick at all. I was locked in my room for most of the day.

"What about you?" I asked quietly, changing the subject. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you," he replied, gutturaly. "You didn't look so good the other night,"

"I know...Thanks for helping me out. I really needed a fr--_someone_ to be there with me. What time did you go?"

"Before sunrise. Your fever broke a couple of hours after you fell asleep,"

I nodded, comprehending what he was saying to me. Facing him, I looked into his eyes...those soft light green eyes...My head ached again, so I held it. Groaning a bit, I turned away from the Batman, as if to not let him know what was going on. But he noticed it anway.

"What's wrong?" he asked me.

"Nothing," I dismissed it. "It's nothing,"

"...Listen. There's something I need to tell you,"

I sighed a bit.

"Can it wait?" I asked.

"...I suppose..."

It looked like he really wanted to tell me something. But I didn't want to know just yet...At least...No. I don't want to know. Not now. My body was hurting all over from the hits I had recieved. I'm just lucky none of the bruises appeared yet., and that my hoodie was hiding the ones on my face. I just hope he doesn't ask me to take it off my head.

"What's this?" Batman pointed at my neck.

I looked down a bit, and saw my locket, shining in the moonlight. My first thought was to hide it, but then I stopped. He went for so long searching who killed my parents, he didn't even know their faces. I unclapsed it around my neck, and gave it to him

"I got it on my 8th birthday," I spoke as he studied the pictures inside. "My mom had one just like it,"

"...You look like your mother," Batman remarked.

"I know,"

"And you have your father's eyes,"

"I know,"

"They loved you very much,"

"...I know,"

I had sobbed out that last response. This was pathetic. I was crying when I can't anymore. The next thing I knew, I was slowly being pulled toward the Batman. He held me there, against his hard chest. At first I resisted his sympathy, but sometimes people know what's good for you, even if you dont want it. He held my head and stroked it. I felt warm and safe in his arms as he hugged me tight. I hugged him back. I had never expected this to happen. He held me with a gentle touch this time. The other times, he was rough and strange. But, like I said to Alfred before, I felt like I've known Batman for a long time.

"Batman?" I started.

"Yes," he answered.

"Can you teach me to fly?"

"...No, but I can take you for a flight,"

I couldn't remember the last time I flew. But I remember the feeling I had once recieved when my story first bega. Wrapping me in his cape, I hung onto the Batman, curling my arms around his neck. I took a deep breath.

"Ready?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"Hang on,"

I didn't even know that we took off until I really saw that we were flying. Overlooking the city, I felt I was set free. I was calm, quiet, and I would only feel the slightest aches in my body once in a while. Sometimes, I thought Batman noticed me wince a bit, but I guess he didn't because he didn't say anything. I didn't want to tell him about my problem for fearing it would gt bigger and bigger. I know it's stupid and prideful, but the last thing I want was for people to get hurt. Somewhere inside, I wanted to punish Edgar for what he's done. I wanted to be angry at him, but it hurt. It took all that I had not to wince. I almost fell asleep while I was flying, and I was planning my next move in order to get away as quickly as possible. But a gush of wind was enough to wake me up. My arms were aching a bit. They did before, but not as much as now. I showed no expression on my face. I had expected to feel a rush of freedom when we started to fly, but I wasn't feeling it. I suppose I had gotten use to it a small bit. Although, I still wanted to feel it again. I wanted to be free. I wanted a huge weight to be lifted off of me. But I would have to work hard to get my freedom back. Problem was, though, I would have to do it alone. This wasn't a group problem. This was a "me" problem. We glided over the city, lights through tiny windowsof sky scrapers showing us the way through the night. I sighed a bit.

"What's wrong?" the Batman asked softly.

"A lot of things," I replied in a small voice.

"Here,"

In a moment, we were swooping toward a particular building. After we had landed, I was gently set on my feet. Folding my arms, I was silent. Whatever was bothering me, the Batman wanted to know. But I couldn't tell him. It would cause a serious problem. I didn't want anyone to get hurt...But something inside me told me tha this will not go away without any bloodshed.

"You're afraid something's going to happen," Batman declared

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't. I didn't know what to say. But yes, I was afraid something was going to happen. And it was getting close. So close. Closer with each shaky breath I took. The wind seemed to be colder to me. I shivered. The Batman moved toward me to put his cape around me, but I backed away. If he touched me around the shoulders, and I flinced, then questions would be raised. Slowly, Batman decided to leave me alone for a bit.

"Sarah," he said in a gentle way. "What I have to tell you is very important,"

"...Batman, do you keep secrets from people you care about?" I asked changing the subject again.

"...I have to,"

"Why? I mean, do people know who you are? Who you really are?"

"Some do,"

"Did you tell them, or did they have to find out?"

"...I told them...Why are you asking me this? Are you keeping a secret?"

"...I keep secrets everyday! I kept the secret of meeting you since the night at the docks, I kept Bruce a secret--"

"What secret?"

I jumped a bit. That was a bit sudden, and it scared me out of my wits. Althogh his eyes were soft, which tempted me into telling my secret about Bruce,"

"Last Sunday," I started. "Bruce was really sick. Alfred didn't want me to get sick too, so he told me I had to stay with Rachel for a while. But--for some reason, Alfred told me to tell me people he was on some business trip...That's the only secret I've kept for him, but I feel like there's more...Ugh. Why am I telling you all this?...Why do I feel like there's more secrets to keep?"

I looked down a bit, hugging myself, as if to hide the covered bruises that were forming, and I could feel them so much, it hurt. Once again, the Batman came toward me, but once again, I backed away. He looked at me with the same softness in his eyes. I shook my head.

"Please don't look at me like that," I told him softly. "It makes me scared,"

Batman nodded, understanding.

"I don't want to keep anymore secrets," I declared.

"...We all keep secrets. Whether we like it or not,"

(A/N: Sorry this was kind of a short chapter. But I hope you guys liked it. Review please!)


	21. How It All Started

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

"Sarah!" shouted Josh. "I am not running one more block until you tell me what's going on!"

It was the next morning around 7. The sun was just rising, and Josh and I were running down the almost deserted sidewalks. Let me break it down to you about what happened so far. With only 3 hours of sleep, I had gotten to the computer in Edgar's office and onto my bank account at Gotham National Bank online. From there, I took out at least 2000 dollars, and put it aside so I could pick it up soon. Then, I got my backpack, and packed in everything I could fit in there: Toothbrush, toothpaste, change of clothes, the book Bruce gave me, and my roller blades. After I put on a pair of jeans, put cover up on my face to hide the bruises, and a black turtleneck sweater with 3/4 sleeves, I rushed to Josh's room, and made him get up. He was asking me repeatedly what was going on, but I would't answer him. All I did was make him pack as much as he could in his backpack. As soon as he zipped up, I took him by the arm roughly, and we both rushed out of Mason Manor...hopefully for good. Yeah. We were running away. I know its dangerous, but its the only solution I could come up with. After making a quick trip to the Bank, Josh and I went down to Gotham Tracks, where we would board a train to a small town called Smallville that was due to leave in 15 minutes.

"Sarah!" Josh shouted again as he shook my hand off his arm. "Where are we going?"

"Smallville," I answered him as I grabbed his arm again. "Now come on!"

"Smallville? Wha--Why are we gong to some hick town when we should be going to school?"

By now, I was really getting annoyed. I took Josh by the collar, and dragged him to a nearby alley. Slamming him against the spray-panted brick wall, he looked at me with shock.

"Beacuse," I said. "Edgar has no right to abuse you and me, and he had no righ to murder my parents!"

My voice echoed off the walls, although no one heard me. Josh kind of looked away from me. He knew. He knew all aong who killed my parents, and didn't have the thought to warn me. But then I remembered the clue he gave me. The anagram. Backing up, I turned away from my cousin, ashamed of myself. I sighed, and put a hand on my head.

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"It's okay," Josh shrugged.

"...Look, the point is we can't stay in Gotham. If Edgar's going to beat us like the way he did last night, it'll get worse. We could wind up in the hospital...Maybe even dead,"

My cousin understood. We both came out of the alley, and while we kept a low profile as if someone was watcing our every move. When we got to the train station, there wasn't that many people. Just a couple sitting on a bench, drinking a cappucino, and a few ticket booths were open. Shifting my backpack on my shoulder, Josh and I made our way to an open booth.

"Hi," I said, greeting the teller. "I have two tickets to Smallville reserved under Jennifer Mason,"

I had used my mothers name as a "secret identity". No one knew it that well, and wouldn't mistake me as "that kid who's godfather is Bruce Wayne" right away. Josh and I were given our tickets, and I looked at them. Smallville was very far, at least a half a day train ride. And people come in and out of that town everyday, so seats are piled up. I was able to get at least one seat for the train that took off in 8 minutes. The other one didn't come until 10 at night...I gave the morning ticket to Josh.

"Come on," I said to him.

Josh and I ran out to the train yards, dodging business people, and conductors. When we finally got to out destined train, I gave Josh a slip of paper, and an envelope of 500 dollars when we arrived at the gate.

"OK," I said looking around a bit. "Go to this address. My mom's old friend lives on a farm there. Just tell her that you're Jennifer Mason's nephew, and show her this picture,"

I took out a picture of my mom in her teenage years, and gave it to my cousin. He took it, and looked at me weird

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'll be there early tomorrow morning," I explained. "And I'll call at least an hour before I come,"

"...Sarah, I want to say thanks. For everything...You know, I've always wanted to leave Gotham. I just never had the guts to do it,"

I smiled a bit.

"I'm glad I helped," I said softly.

"And I'm sorry for calling you names and stuff like that,"

My smile grew wider as I thought of the one thing I wanted to apologize for.

"I'm sorry," I started. "For dressing up as Batman and scaring you at the auditorium at school,"

Josh's eyes were wide as I smield sheepishly.

"_You_?" he asked. "That was _you_?"

I nodded...And to my surprise, Josh smiled.

"Awesome," he said in a "cool" voice. "My cousin wants to be a masked vigilante,"

"...Bye Josh,"

For the first time every, Josh and I gently hugged each other, so careful not to touch our bruises. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was actually gonna miss him.

"Listen," Josh said. "If Edgar finds you, don't be afraid...I'm sorry I didn't tell you he killed your parents. I got scared,"

I nodded, getting the information, and broke apart the hug as the train blew the whistle. Josh got on, and hesitantly waved goodbye to me. I just stood there on the platform, waving my hand at the departing train. Sighing, I straightened my backpack, and left the train station in a silent manner. It's really scary to run away, but it was the only option. Besides, it's frightening to know that your uncle killed your parents. I would turn him in, but he would find a way to kill me. Running away is the only escape. I walked down the sidewalk in the cold morning air. I didn't know how long I walked until I came by the park. Just standing and staring, I looked at all the kids and their parents. My parents took me to this park all te time when I was small. It brought back a lot of memories. There was an empty swing in a corner. In the bright sunshine, I sat on int, my backpack sitting against the pole. There never was a beautiful day. I couldn't remember a day where the clouds were a celestial white, and the sky was a perfect sky blue. Fall had not yet set its terrible curse on the fresh green grass, and the summer leaves of the trees. The temperature was right. The light was right. And given the circumstances, this day was right. This day was perfect. Perfect for reading. Reaching into my backpack, I took out the book that Bruce gave me. Until now, I had never even looked at the title of the black leather book. In gold letters it was entitled "The Little Princess: By Frances Hodges Burnette". Opening the book, I began to delve into the misty roads of 19th Century London.

(A/N: I do not own this passage from "The Little Princess" By Frances Hodgens Burnette)

_Once on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares. She sat with her feet tucked under her, and leaned against her father, who held her in his arm, as she stared out of the window at the passing people with a queer old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes.She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face. It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven. The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to. She felt as if she had lived a long, long time._

As I read page after page, I noticed the similarities between Sara Crewe and me. She lost her parents, a popular girl hated her, a strange man visited her, and someone know knew her parents wanted to take care of her. We even had the same initials, and almost the same name. For the whole day, when I should have been in school instead of running away, I read the book. From chapter to chapter, and cover to cover. When I had finally finished, my neck kind of hurt and it was 3:05 on my watch. In my pocket was the adress of Bruce and Alfred's penthouse they were staying at. Making up my mind, I decided to visit them

* * *

I knocked on the door and waited for a bit. When it opened, I expected to see Bruce. But instead, Alfred was there, drying off a plate with a dish towel.

"Alfred!" I exclaimed.

"Miss Sarah," Alfred smiled. "How are you?"

"Good," I lied. "I missed you,"

"Me too. Would you like to come in?"

"Sure," I replied coming in.

The penthouse was as gorgeious as Wayne Manor, and about the size of a regular house. Like the first time I came to live with Bruce and Alfred, I looked around with wide eyes. Alfred closed the door behind me, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Would you like something to eat?" he asked me.

I was starving. I didn't have that much to eat yesterday, and I skipped lunch while I was reading. I'm surprised my body has been able to function well. But, I shook my head.

"That's okay Alfred," I assured. "You don't have to make me anythng. Besides, you're just doing the dishes,"

"Nonsense," Alfred insisted as we walked into the kitchen. "It would be my pleasure. I'll make you some grilled cheese,"

Grilled cheese sounded mouth watering, so I let Alfred make me a late lunch. I sat at the counter, and waited patiently. I occasionally pulled my sleeves up to cover the bruises I got from Edgar's abusive episode last night. But I was calm, knowing I was in good company.

"So," I started. "Where's Bruce?"

I had not seen Bruce for a while, and I was wondering how he was doing. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to him before I left.

"He had a previous engagement with Miss Dawes," Alfred explained as he passed me the steaming sandwich before returned to a couple of unwashed dishes. "But if you would like to stay for a while, I'm sure he'd appreciate it,"

"That's okay Alfred," I replied. "I won't be staying long. I just thought it'd be nice to visit you guys,"

Alfred hgave me a kind smile as I took a bite of my sandwich. Gosh, it tasted so good. The cheese evaporated in my mouth, and I savored the toasted bread. As I ate, I got to thinking about what happened since my parents died. Then I remembered the day when alfred and I picked up Bruce from the Far East.

"Alfred," I started. "Where did Bruce go?...I mean, why did he leave for 7 years? What happened?"

A silence filled the air as Alfred looked at me with a blank face. I had to swallow a previous bite of grilled cheese down my throat. With a sigh, Alfred dried off his hands, and sat with me by te kitchen counter. Like a grandfather, he held my hand in his and patted it lovingly.

"Miss Sarah," he said softly. "You have to understand that you were very small when Master Wayne left. You also might not remember: You were there when Miss Daws last saw him,"

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I--I was?" I asked.

"You were about 5 years old the day Master Wayne disappeared...and the last time he saw your mother and father,"

* * *

_7 years ago..._

_"Hey Mr. Princeton," 25 year old Jennifer Chante greeted happily._

_Bruce and Rachel looked up to find their old friend, Jennifer Chante. Jennifer was a bouncy and fun woman to be around with. Although, she was very serious when she did her detective work with her husband, Luke. Bruce shook his head in a dismissive, but loving way. He had known Jennifer since they were kids and were very close. However, since Bruce got the news that Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents when he was 8, was getting an early parole and had been distant sicne he had arrived back from Princeton University. Bruce walked up to his old friend as she entered the kitchen, putting her bag and trench coat on the counter, and hugged her_

_"How long are you going to call me that?" he asked._

_"Mmm," Jennifer thought mockingly. "For the rest of your natural born life. My gosh, I've missed you. Look at you. You're not the annoying 8 year old I thought you were gonna grow up to be,"_

_"Trust me," Rachel joined in. "I bet he still is,"_

_Again, Bruce shook his head and looked at Jennifer_

_"How's Luke and Sarah?" he asked_

_"They're fine," Jennifer replied. "Sarah's getting out of pre-school soon, and Luke's the same...Me, well, I've missed this place,"_

_"So do I," Rachel added_

_Sadly, Bruce nodded_

_"Yeah," he replied. "But it's nothing without the people who made it what it was. Now there's only Alfred,"_

_"And you," Rachel gave a comforting smile._

_"I'm not staying Rachel,"_

_"You're just back for the hearing," Jennifer confirmed._

_Bruce nodded as Rachel looked down a bit._

_"Bruce," she started. "I don't suppose there's any way to convince you not to come,"_

_"Someone at this--'proceeding'," Bruce rolled his eyes. "Should stand for my parents,"_

_"We all loved your parents, Bruce. What Chill did is unforgivable,"_

_"Then why is your boss letting him go?"_

_Jennifer started wringing her hands around the folds of her coat a bit. She knew Bruce would never let this go. But Joe Chill's trial was an important one to her and Luke. For the past few months, she and her husband were trying to find a way to bring a huge Crime Boss down to his knees, and into an orange jumpsuit at the Gotham Correctional Facility. She looked at Rachel with a "Talk to him" look, and continued fiddling with her coat._

_"In prison," Rachel started slowly. "He shared a cell with Carmine Falcone. He learned things, and he will testify in exchange for early parole,"_

_"Rachel," Bruce protested softly. "This man killed my parents...I can not let that pass. And I need you and Jennifer to understand that. Please,"_

_"...OK,"_

* * *

"Wow," I said softly. "Bruce really wanted revenge on him...Where was I in this?" 

"You'll have to ask Miss Dawes when you get the chance," Alfred said as he cleared my dishes.

I looked down a bit. I knew the last time my parents saw Brue was at Joe Chill's trial, but I didn't know that I was there. All these thoughts mingled in my head for a while.

"But you know," Alfred said softly to me as he washed more dishes. "Your mother loved Master Wayne very much. And, even though she didn't say, I could see in her eyes that she regretted not saying some things to him when he left. And when she got the news he was dead, she was devestated...A friendship is a very valuable thing, Miss Sarah. And if you lose it, you lose yourself,"

I tought about this with a rock in my throat. A friendship is a wonderful thing to treasure. Alfred was right. It's very awful to lose a friend, no matter who you are. With a nod, I jumped off the kitchen stool, grabbed my backpack, and started heading out. There was something important I had to do.

"Thanks Alfred," I said softly "...Goodbye,"

* * *

Bruce looked out the window in the bid meeting room at Wayne Enterprises. He stood there, thinking. Just thinking. It was nothing special to anyone, but him...He was thinking about the day he disappeared.

_Bruce nervously put the safety off his small colt, and hid it in the sleeves of his coat. He had just walked out of the trial of his parents murderer, Joe Chill. He was nervous, but it was a small price to pay in order to get justice for the deaths of his parents. Taking a deep breath, he heard the paparazzi announce that Joe Chill was coming out of the side of the courtroom. With small quiet steps, he walked toward the advancing crowd with a blank face. One wouldn't understand why he wanted to kill someone, but to Bruce Wayne, it all made perfect sense...BANG!...A blonde woman came out of nowehere and shot the Wayne's murderer right in the chest. Everyone panicked. Screams echoed in the hall, and policemen were handcuffing the woman. One of them was a man in a nice blue shirt, with a Gotham City Police Badge tucked on his black belt. He had thick wavy brown hair, which was his best feature apart from his blue eyes. This man was Luke Chante, the husband of Jennifer. Bruce watched him as Rachel came by his side._

_"Come on Bruce," she said in a low voice. "We don't need to see this,"_

_"...I do," Bruce answered, never taking his eyes away from the body._

_"Luke!" creamed Jennifer._

_Luke looked up from talking to one of the police officers, and ran to his wife, who was running toward them with a red panicked face. Rachel joined them, leaving Bruce alone._

_"Jenny," Luke started softly as he took his wife in his arms. "What's wrong?"_

_"I can't find Sarah," Jennifer wept._

_"What?"_

_"I put her in the D.A's office after I picked her up from pre-school. 5 minutes later, she's gone. I can't find her,"_

_Jennifer and Lukfe left together outside to look for their daughter, while Rachel took off into the courtoom to see if she had wandered in there. Just right after, Bruce heard a little sniffle amidst the chaos. Breaking out of his trance, he turnde to his right. In a small corner of the hall was a wooden bench, and underneath was a little girl, huddled in a ball. Bruce walked toward it with curiousity. This must be his goddaughter, 5-year-old Sarah Chante. Although the last time he really saw her was when she was just a baby, he still had an obligation to comfort her. He bent down to look at the shaking girl._

_"Is it over," the tear filled eyes started at him with a small voice._

_"...Yeah," Bruce said softly. "It's over...Come out of there. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's OK,"_

_Slowly, the little girl crawled out, and Bruce set her on her feet. He gently held his goddaughter by the shoulders, and looked at her sternly._

_"What were you doing under there?" he asked._

_"I was looking for my mommy. But then I heard a lot of screaming, and I thought there was a monster," Sarah replied in an innocent voice._

_Bruce almost cracked a smile at the thought of a shooting being a monster. But that would have been inapporpriate._

_"It wasn't a monster," he reassured her. "Someone got hurt. That's all,"_

_"Did they get hurt real bad?" Sarah asked._

_"...Yes,"_

_"Are they gonna go to heaven if they die?"_

_Bruce wanted to say "No", but then it would confuse her as to why he would say that someone who died wouldn't go to heaven. He just merely shrugged._

_"Sarah!" shouted a worried voice._

_Bruce and the 5 year old turned to finda frantic Jennfier followed by Luke and Rachel. Sarah broke free from Bruce's grasp and jumped into her mother's arms. Bruce had never seen Jennifer cry so much. It wasn't a comfortable sight. Before long, Luke broke away from his wife and daighter, and put a hand on Bruce's shoulder._

_"Can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked_

_The young billionaire agreed as he and his friend walked to a nearby corner. Luke looked to his family and turned to Bruce with a reverent look on his face._

_"Bruce," he started. "I want to say thank you for not doing anything that you would regret in the near furture. I mean, if Sarah saw anything...If she saw that man die...I don't know how she'd take it,"_

_Bruce nodded, thinking a bit._

_"I think she'd take it all right," he commented._

_Pretty soon, Bruce was in the car with Rachel on their way to Luke and Jennifer's apartment. They had to stay behind for paper work, so thy asked Rachel to take home their sleepy child. Sarah napped in the backseat with her denim "Hello Kitty" backpack, leaning against her shoulder. Bruce stared out the window, with that same blank face as before._

_"The D.A couldn't understand why Judge Faden insisted on making the hearing public," Rachel explained. "Falcone paid him off to get Chill out in the open,"_

_"Well," Bruce said dryly. "Maybe I should be thanking him,"_

_Rachel narrowed her eyes._

_"You don't mean that," she stated._

_"But what if I do Rachel?" Bruce inquired. "My parents deserve justice,"_

_"You're not talking about justice. You're talking about revenge,"_

_"Sometimes they're the same,"_

_"No, they're never the same, Bruce. Justice is about harmony. Revenge is about you making yourself feel better. Which is why we have an impartial system,"_

_"Your system is broken,"_

_That really ticked off Rachel. Immedietly, she took a sharp left turn down to the Underworld of Gotham. As she drove through the dark street, she spoke to Bruce. He just kept staring out the window, looking out at the people in poverty._

_"You care about justice?" Rachel asked him. "Look beyond your own pain Bruce. This city is rotting. They talk about the depression as if it's history, and it's not. Things are worse than ever down here. Falcone floods our streets with crime and drugs, preying on the desperate, creating new Joe Chill's everyday...And Falcone may not have killed your parents Bruce. But he's destroying everything they stood for...He's destroying Luke and Jennifer too. All their hard work to bring him down keeps on getting destroyed, and if it continues, they have to live in the Narrows. I know Jennifer won't ask her aprents for help, but her family is practically shunning her, and won't give her support. They don't even care if they're living on the streets...Sarah can't live in the Narrows, Bruce. It'll destroy her childhood, and every bit of it,"_

_With that, Rachel pulled up in front of a fancy restauant out in the slums._

_"You want to thank him for that," she started. "Here you go. We all know where to find him. But as long as he keeps the bad people rich and the good people scared, no one will touch him. Good people like your parents who will stand against injustice: They're gone. What chance does Gotham have when the good people do nothing?"_

_"...I'm not one of your good people, Rachel," Bruce replied softly._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"All these years I wanted to kill him...Now I can't,"_

_Slowly, Bruce pulled out his small colt he had hidden in the sleeves of his coat, showing Rachel. She sat there, with pure shock on her face. Not one person spoke or stirred in the car...Then Rache slapped him. Bruce didn't even flinch. He knew what he had coming. Rachel slapped him again, as if the first one wasn' enough. She shook her head...How could he do this?_

_"Your father would be ashamed of you," she said in a low voice._

_Bruce looked at Rachel, this time, with a hurt look. But it was Rachel, and his parents name hehurt first. Without a word, Bruce stepped out of the car, and walked to the pier near the restauraunt on the cold fall night. The dark blue sky sent a glow around him as he pondered into the depths of the days events. Looking out at the sea, he tried to see how far it would take for him in order to get away from Gotham City. Then he looked at the gun in his hand...It was a weapon. A weapon of poison, hatred, and murder. It had used Bruce. It had used him and poisoned his mind, so that it would be bent on revenge. With hatred, he threw the gun to the sea, lost and forever forgotten, never to be seen by human eyes again. Standing tall, he walked back to the restaurant. This Falcone guy had gone far ebough, scaring everyone in Gotham with this tyranny of crime. He was able to get past the guys out front, so, basically, so far so good. The first step he took, the first person he saw in the room, was Falcone, sitting on a booth, reading the evening paper of the Gotham Tribune. Immedietly, Bruce loathed the man on sight. There he was, sitting like he owned everything from the gold cuffs on his sleeves to the gum stuck under yourshoe. But when Bruce walked toard him, he was stopped by a man, who began searching him for a weapon of any kind._

_"You're taller than you look in the tabloids, Mr. Wayne," Falcone remarked as Bruce was done being searched. "No gun? I'm insulted,"_

_Roughly, Bruce was pushed down on the seat across from Falcone_

_"You could've just sent a Thank You note," Falcone put the paper away._

_"I didn't come here to thank you," Bruce spat. "I came here to show you that not everyone is Gotham's afraid of you,"_

_"Only those who know me, kid. Look around you. You'll see two councilmen, a union official, couple of off-duty cops, and a judge,"_

_Suddenly, Falcone pulled his gun from inside his coat pocket, and pointed it straight at Bruce. Bruce did nothing but stare at the Crime Boss. To him, the barrel of the gun would only scream one word if you stared into the blackness: Murder._

_"Now I wouldn't have a seconds hesitaion to blowing your head off righ here, right now, in front of them. Now that's power you can't buy...That's the power of fear,"_

_"I'm not afraid of you," Bruce whispered._

_"Because you think you've got nothing to lose. But you haven't thought it through...You haven't thought about your lady friend down in the D.A.'s office. You haven't thought about your old butler. You haven't thought about those two detectives and their little girl. BANG!"_

_Falcone had imitated a gunshot that made Bruce slightly jump. It was true. He hadn't even thought about the ones who loved him. Falcone put away the gun as he continued to talk._

_"People from your world have so much to lose. Now you think because your mommy and your daddy got shot, that you know about the ugly side of life, but you don't. You've never tasted desperate. You're uh, you're Bruce Wayne. The Prince of Gotham. You'd have to go a thousand miles to meet someone who didn't know your name. So don't--Don't come down here with your anger, trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world you'll never understand. ANd you always fear what you don't understand...All right,"_

_Bruce felt someone push his head, to catch him off guard. Before he had a chance to react, one of Falcone's men grabbed him in a headlock, with him struggling. As another one held him between them, a third one punched Bruce twice: One in the gut, and once across the face. Blood trickled from his mouth, as Bruce looked up, pure hate in his green eyes. Falcone nodded in approval._

_"Yeah," he said. "You got spirit, kid. I'll give you that. More than your old man, anyway. In the joint, Chill told me, uh, told me about the night he killed your parents. He said your father begged fr mercy...Begged...Like a dog,"_

_The next thing he knew, Bruce was being thrown out of the restaurant. Rolling on the cold wet road, all he wanted to do was just lie there. He couldn't believe what Falcone said about his father. The only proof he had about what happened that night was the truth, and the haunting memory that plagued him._

_"Should've tipped better," said a low voice._

_Bruce looked up from wiping the blood off his lip with his scar, to see a homeless man next to a bonfire, trying to get warm for the night. Bruce looked at the sight thoughtfully. A lot of people were in poverty since the depression. His father tried to help it, but it costed him and his wife their lives. And if his father and mother couldn't help Gotham City...then neither can he. Slowly, he paced toward the bonfire, and started to throw stuff in there. First his scarf, then his wallet. He offered the money to the homeless man._

_"For what?" he asked._

_"Your jacket," Bruce answered._

_The homeless man was dumbfounded. The jacket he had was old and ratty, and it was the only thing that kept him warm. But with the money this Prince of Gotham was giving him, he figured he could help out. So the homeless man gave Bruce that jacket. However, when Bruce was about to throw his coat and sweater in the fire, he homeless man stopped him._

_"Hey," he took Bruce's coat. "Let me have it. It's a nice coat,"_

_"Be careful who sees you with that," Bruce warned as he put on the ratty jacket. "They're gonna come looking for me,"_

_"Who?"_

_"Everyone,"_

"Bruce!"

Bruce slightly jumped, breaking out of his thoughts. He turned to find Rachel, who looked like she had seen a ghost, as she tightly gripped a pile of papers she had with her. He grew concerned.

"Rachel," he said softly. "What's wrong?"

"It's Jennifer," Rachel said in a semi-loud voice. "_**She was adopted**_,"

(A/N: Hope you liked it. Review please)


	22. We Fall To Learn To Pick Ourselves Up

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

I never really actually planned this from the beginning, but I had to do it fast. Ally's performance was going to start in a couple of minutes...actually it already started, but she was performing last with Haley. Racing down the sidewalk as quickly and as quietly as I could, I was able to make it to Gotham City Private as night fell, covering my figure and my shadows. My backpack hung over my shoulder with one strap hanging off. If I had both of them on, it would touch the bruises harder, and I would be in more pain. I swear, they hurt more than last night. Oh man, I hope this night ends soon. I quietly snuck into the school, hoping to attract no one's attention. But, of course, there was no reason to be sneaking in, however if you were in my shoes, you'd be doing the same thing too. One wrong move and I could regret it forever. I quietly walked into the dark auditorium, the one where I did my little Batman stunt, and found my ears immersed in music. I found a seat near the door, where I could make a quick escape. At the end of one segment of the choir concert, the audience started applauding as the performers went off stage, and Miss Milan came to address the next part of the show.

"Thank you," Miss Milan announced with a kind smile as the applause died down. "Now, before we begin with our choir concert, there has been a slight change in the program. It seems that one of our performers for the song 'My Strongest Suit' will not be with us tonight. But thankfully, Haley Kingston, this year's president for the 6th grade choir, has graciously offered to fill in her shoes. We hope you enjoy the show,"

Wait a second...That was the song that Ally and Haley were singing. But why is it a solo when it should be a duet?...Something was going on. Looking around as if to make sure nobody was watching, I slipped out of the dark auditorium, and made my way backstage. Ugh, I can't believe I was doing this. But something inside me said that something was wrong with Ally. Maybe if I found her backstage, I could find out why she's not performing tonight.Well, it seemed that luck would be on my side tonight, because when I quietly snuck into the backstage door, I heard Nathan, and Ally crying. When I edged closer, I saw them. I didn't want them to see me, so I stayed where I was, concealing myself behind the black curtain. Ally was sitting down on an bench used for plays, looking totally upset. She was dressed in a lovely yellow dress that sparkled at the skirt. I suppose her brunette hair was intended to be in a bun, but strands of it were all messed up. My heart went out to my friends as I heard Nathan try to comfort his older sister.

"Don't worry Ally," he said, almost in a chirppy voice. "Things'll get better,"

"How could I've been so stupid?" Ally ignored him, punishing herself. "I should've known Haley was just pulling my chain all along,"

Suddenly, I had gotten the idea. Haley must've tricked Ally into thinking that she was going to sing with her tonight for the choir concert. Probably as a way to get back at her for saying that there was a mole on her cheek. But I was furious at Haley. She was cruelest person I've ever met. Since the first day I met her, I knew she would cause me and my friends problems, and a possible arch-nemisis in school and out, on occasion...I could'nt let this happen. She hurt Ally. I took a deep breath, and revealed myself to Aly and Nathan.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked, to make my prescense known.

Ally and Nathan looked up...and to my surprise, Nathan rushed up and hugged me around the waist, his head resting on my stomach.

"I missed you so much!" his voice muffled against me sounded.

Nathan's hug didn't hurt...emotionally anyway. I almost winced from the bruise he hit hard. But it wasn't his fault. He and Ally had no idea what was going on in my life. Neither did I, although I didn't want to bother figuring it out. Ally looked at me strangely.

"What are you doing here?" she asked me.

"...I came to hear you sing," I replied as Nathan let go of me. "Imagine my surprise when I found out that you weren't up for it. What happened?"

"...It's none of your business," Ally said stubbornly. "I just don't feel like singing tonight, that's all,"

I shook my head.

"Ally," I said softly."You can't--I'm mean--" I sighed. "...Do you remember when I first came to Gotham City Private?"

"...Yeah," Ally stared at me, wondering where I was going through this.

"You didn't say anything, and neither did I, but you kind of stood up for me when those girls called me 'Mute Girl'. Remember I didn't say a word since the day my parents died?"

"Yeah...I know,"

"Well, something happened that day, and I couldn't take it anymore. So, I ran. I ran as hard as I could...Running away seemed to solve all of my problems...That's actually what I was planning to do tonight after I saw you perform and apologize to you about what happened at Bruce's party,"

Ally and Nathan looked at me in shock. At first I thought they were speechless, but Nathan gave out the first word.

"Why?" he asked. "What happened? Don't you like Gotham? Don't you like us?"

"Oh, Nathan" I comforted my younger friend. "Of course I like you. You were the first two people who made me feel like I could live a normal life,"

"Then why are you running?" Ally wanted to know.

"...Gotham's just not safe for me anymore. It's complicated...Anyway, Ally, after I ran back home to Wayne Manor, I was so tired, I thought I would just collapse right then and there. Next thing I know, Bruce has me in his arms, Alfred's bringing in blankets, and I'm sitting on the couch with a hot mug of tea in my hands. Then Bruce asked me something...Ally, do you know why we fall?"

Ally shook her head.

"...So that we can learn to pick ourselves up...The point is Ally, no matter how many problems come across your path, you can't let them push you down. You have to face them...You have the power. Not them. Not Haley. Nobody! It's all you!...It's all you...Anyway, I'm sorry about what I said to you at Bruce's party. I hope you can forgive me,"

Ally just continued to stare at me. I didn't know what else to do other than to just start walking away, until...

"Sarah, wait," Ally started.

I turned around, confused a bit.

"...I'll make a deal with you," she started. "If you help me, I'll help you get through whatever problem you have,"

"...I don't know if this kind of problem is easy to fix, Ally," I replied softly.

"I'll do whatever I can...Right now, I just need you to help me tell Haley that she has no right to kick other people out of the limelight...You with me?"

...I smiled.

"All the way," I replied.

* * *

The concert was almost over, and Gotham City Private was the last place that Alfred and Rachel had decided to look for Sarah. During the past half hour of searching the sidewalks, and streets, they overheard someone talking about an event at Gotham City Private. After a few lightbulbs went out, they immedietly drove over to Gotham City Private, and rushed in. Bruce had his own system of trying to find his goddaughter, so no one else knew where he was, except for a select few. But more of that later. Rachel and Alfred quietly slipped into the auditorium during the last two minutes of Haley Kingston's performance. Mr. and Mrs. Farris were off in the corner, talking to Miss Milan. Rachel thought that Farris's would be a good resource as to Sarah's whereabouts, so she and Alfred rushed up to them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Farris," she said in a hushed tone. "You probably don't remember me, but I'm Rachel Dawes, Gotham City District Attorney,"

"Yes," Mrs. Farris shook Rachel's hand warmly. "I remember. Alfred, how are you?"

"Quite well," Alfred answered. "Considering the circumstances,"

"We were wondering if you knew where Sarah was," Rachel stated to the Farris's and Miss Milan.

"Sarah?" Miss Milan inquired. "I haven't seen her for the past two school days. Neither her cousin, Josh. And I certainly don't recall her signing up for this program,"

"Why?" asked Mr. Farris. "Is something wrong?"

"We don't know," Rachel said worried. "We hope not,"

Suddenly, applause sounded, and everyone turned to look at Haley Kingston, who was curtsying modestly. There she stood on the stage, in a sparkling blue dress that ruffled at the skirt, taking all the glory, making sure not one drop of it was missing.

"Thank you!" she annouced to the audience. "Thank you all for coming! You know, there's an old saying that they save the best for last. Well, what do you know? They did save the best for last,"

It seemed as if the show was over. But just when Haley was about to announce that, Ally walked on stage clapping with the rest of the audience. Haley did a double take at the girl who was supposed to be singing with her at that particular choir concert. If you were here, and saw Ally Farris, there would be only one word to say: WOW! Ally was dressed in an awesome purple long sleeved shirt, a black skirt that went to her knees, black stockings, and a pair of purple ballet flats. Haley scoffed.

"Nice outfit Farris," she commented. "What are you part of? The Goth Girls?"

A few members of the audience laughed at that. Rachel, Alfred, Miss Milan, and the Farris's shot a glare at anyone in particular who might've thought that was funny. Soon, Nathan came up to his parents.

"Hey mom," he whispered.

"Nathan!" Mrs. Farris replied softly. "There you are. Have you seen Sarah?"

Nathan shifted his eyes a bit.

"...Um..." he wondered what his answer was going to be. "No?"

Apparently, Nathan's not that good of an actor. Mr. Farris crossed his arms, as Mrs. Farris bent down to her son's level.

"Young man," he said sternly. "You have 10 seconds to tell me where Miss Chante is, or you're grounded for the rest of your natural born life,"

"Nathan, please," Mrs. Farris pleaded.

"Sarah could be in danger, Nathan," Rachel added. "For her sake, you have to tell us where she is, no matter what sort of promise you made to her,"

"...Can I say that she's here but not tell you exactly where?" Nathan asked.

Bad actor, but resourceful. Especially at the age of 8. But this did not amuse the adults very well. As Mr. and Mrs. Farris took Nathan out of the auditorium to talk with their son in private, Alfred leaned in towards Rachel's ears, careful to not draw Miss Milan's attention. During Nathan's interrogation, he had called Bruce to inform him about what was going on

"I just spoke with Master Wayne," he whispered. "He's searching for her here right now,"

"Haley," their attention was drawn back to Ally. "I have an idea. I promise you 100 percent that it will get attention,"

"...I'm listening," Haley seemed interested.

"Since you did a solo," Ally started. "How about I do one?...I promise it won't be better than yours,"

Rachel, Alfred, and Miss Milan were puzzled as to what this spunky 12 year old brunette was up to. Nobody in the audience seemed to protest to the fact that they were practically asked to stay for one more performance. Everyone was waiting for Haley's answer. It was her answer that would make the decision as to what would happen in the next 5 minutes...But who said it was her choice as to imply how it would happen? Haley smiled.

"All right Farris," she stepped back. "Show me what you got,"

Haley tossed the cordless microphone to Ally that she had in her hands. At first, Ally looked puzzled, but she soon got back her confidence. She centered herself...the lights dimmed to a pitch black...At once, when the music started with a fast symphony of strings, the lights were a dark green, where you could see Ally, and someone's silhouette behind her, head down, and dressed in a pair of black yoga pants, black three-quarter shirt...a short black cape...and a black mask...And thus Ally started the beginning of a Revolution against discrimination for those who taunted the ones who dared to be different.

(A/N: I don't own "Thanks For The Memories" by Fall Out Boy. Also I changed the lyrics a bit...Hope you guys don't think this is too stupid. (Mentally crosses fingers))

_**I'm gonna make you bend and break**_

The dark silhouetee started to sing too. But it was only one line at first, and kept their head down, as if to conceal themselves from the rest of the world.

(_**It sends you to me without end)**_

Ally caught on...but not until after she got a glimpse of Haley's gaping face. Oh yeah. They were that good.

_**Say a prayer, but let the good times roll in case he doesn't show**_

The dark silhouette echoed back the previous lyrics, raising their head...to reveal the face of a blonde haired girl, her blue eyes behind the black mask twinkling in the emerald green lights.

(_**Let the good times roll, let the good times roll)**_

The beat picked up more. Ally started moving with the tempo, creating an excitment in the audience. Haley couldn't understand. She never got that kind of feedback when she was singing tonight. What was going on? This wasn't the way it was supposed to be in the world. In Haley's world that is. Ally and the masked girl got the crowd going as they moved on, almost conversing with one another, with Ally at the reins

_**And I want these words to make things right**_

The masked girl took her turn, her expression fill with such hatred. But for who? Certainly not for Haley, Ally, or anybody in the audience. Who was it that had crossed that strange girl's mind?

_**But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life. Who does he think he is?**_

Ally went again, building up suspension in the performance.

_**If that's the worst you got, better put your fingers back to the keys.**_

BOOM! They jumped up in the air when the chorus exploded. Members of the audience were starting to cheer. Gotham City Private finally had a show.

_**One night and one more time. Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. He tastes like you only sweeter.**_

Ally looked over to the masked girl, who gave her a small wink. Things were looking pretty good so far. They switched sides adding a bit of park to it. Ally doing a back flip she had learned in the 4th grade, and the masked girl just twirled around, her black cape snapping in the air.

_**One night, yeah, and one more time. Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. He, he tastes like you only sweeter.**_

Haley was still gaping, as the two girls gave each other high fives. The audience was loving them. More than her. Scowling, she went backstage, and just stood there. Steam was practically coming out of her ears. Her face was a bright apple red. As she went to go change, and admit her defeat against the rebellious Ally, and the mysterious "Bat-Freak-Wanna-Be" (In her words), she kicked something on her way. It was a backpack that had spilled it's contents.

_**Been looking forward to the future, but my eyesight is going bad. And this crystal ball...**_

Haley was never one to mind her own business. In this world, whatever business went on, she had to be a part of. No exceptions. Turning her head towards the stage, she wondered if the backpack belonged to that masked girl. Getting an evil smirk on her face, she snooped through the backpack. At first, nothing peeked her interest...wait a second...a pair of roller skates? Why would anybody?... In bold letters on the shoe tongue it said: **Property of Sarah Chante**...Haley laughed to herself as she also pulled out a ticket for a 10:00 train to Smallville.

"Well, well, well," she said softly. "Sarah Chante: Future Bat Freak of Gotham City Private...And Future Scum of Gotham. This is just too good"

_**It's always cloudy except for, when you look into the past (look into the past). One night stand (one night stand off)**_

Meanwhile, back on stage, Ally and The Masked Girl (Who would soon be revealed as Sarah Chante) were blowing away the minds of the students, faculty, and the parents as well. This night was just unbelievable. You had to be there to believe that you were a part of the experience.

_**One night and one more time. Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. He tastes like you, only sweeter.**_

Ally noticed something. As she was jumping around, doing at least a cartwheel or two, she noticed something that was sticking out of her friend's black mask. Although the atmosphere was green with their creativity and unusual timing for their awesome performance, she could tell what it was...A big purple bruise was on the right side of the young girl's face. With horror in her heart, she continued as she gave a signal to her friend, telling her to go on after the next verse without her

_**One night, yeah, and one more time. Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. He, he tastes like you, only sweeter.**_

Ally backed up. Before, the masked girl had gotten the message. Although she didn't know why she had to go on without her friend, who was tricked viciously into falling for her new arch-nemesis mean trick. However, she went on. But in the audience...Rachel and Alfred could've sworn that it was Jennifer Ginerva Mason Chante herself, who had come back to life for a finaly encore at Gotham City Private.

_**They say I only think in the form of crunching numbers. In cold, dark suites hiding from the nightmares.**_

Out of the corner of her eye, the Masked Girl saw a dark glooming figure to her left...Edgar Mason, hoping to find his niece in the midst of all this madness...To her right...The Dark Knight watched over the 12 year old in the darkness, who was using his way of appearance to hide who she really was...She really was a person. No different than you or me, but unique in her own way. And no one else should care but her.

_**Get me out of my mind, and get me out of the Narrows. I'm one inch away from getting you into this mess.**_

Ally came back with her skates on. Tossing another pair to the Masked Girl, Ally jumped off the stage, skating in the aisles of the auditorium, passing the cheering crowd

_**One night and one more time. Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. He tastes like you only sweeter.**_

Mr. and Mrs. Farris came back from outside the lobby, wondering what all the comotion was. Nathan never left his eyes off the stage, or the spotlight on his older sister. Ruffling her little brothers brown locks, Ally passed her family, all smiles, and laughing.

"Hi mom," she skated away. "Hi dad,"

Spinning back, Ally saw the Masked Girl leap off stage. Not a stumble stopped her from continuing, as Ally and her locked arms, going back for the last minute of their little stunt.

"Come on Bat-girl," Ally joked as the jumped back on stage. "You shouldn't have a secret identity...Take off the mask"

With a fast spin on her roller blades, the Masked Girl looked as though she was a blur...

_**One night, yeah, and one more time. Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. He, he tastes like you, only sweeter...**_

The mask fell off her face...Sarah Chante's spirit was able to breathe as the audience cheered. They now knew who it was that imitated the Caped Crusader, and they didn't care what she had done to make them hate her. It seemed they had forgotten. Their hearts were racing a mile a minute as Ally Farris and Sarah Chante finished their revolution.

_**One night and one more time (One more night, one more time) Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. He tastes like you only sweeter.**_

Sarah was now smiling with all that she had as they finished up...A spirit of hers that had long been forever gone was returning by the second in her heart...She had earned the right to fly free again.

_**One night, yeah,and one more time (One more night, one more time) Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. He, he tastes like you, only sweeter.**_

Clasping hands in the air, Ally Farris and Sarah Chante had retrieved their friendship as the crowd went wild. Pulling the other into a hug, both girls made a pact that no matter what happened, they would always find a way to help each other, for better or worse.

* * *

I couldn't believe all that had happened in the last five minutes. Everything looked like it was going to be okay from now on. That I wouldn't have to run anymore. This whole thing...it was...WOW! Oh my gosh, I had never felt that great in a long time. It was big! As the curtain dropped down immedietly, Ally and I ran off left stage to try and fix up a few other things.

"That was great!" Ally spun around in her skates. "Oh my gosh. You should've seen Haley's face. It was priceless,"

"I know," I agreed, still ctahing my breath, in a smile. "I wish my parents were here. They wouldn't sop talking about it for months,"

"Come on," Ally laughed. "Let's go ask my parents if you--"

Suddenly, a strong hand gripped my bruised arm. Involuntarily, I let out a yelp of pain. My arm. It hurt so much, my eyes were squeezing out tears for the trauma of my beaten muscles. Ally gasped as she backed away, and as I looked into the cold face of my Uncle Edgar.

"Nice performance Scummy," he hissed in anger. Then he grabbed the back of my neck, making me look into those cold eyes. "But not nice enough!"

"Somebody help!" Ally called out as she tried to pry Edgar's grip off of me. "Let her go! Help! Anyone!"

Edgar smacked Ally away from us, and she fell to the ground. I gasped. She wasn't getting up. He knocked her out. I struggled to get out of my uncle's grip, but it hurt so much, I thought that I too was going to pass out from the pain.

"You've crossed the line this time, Scummy," he growled at me. "Now you have 1 second to tell me where my son is, or I'll hit you so hard, you won't wake up for a long time"

"...My name is Sarah," I said through my teeth.

SMACK! I almost crumpled to the ground from the impact. Blood trickled down from the fresh cut on my cheek, but I didn't care. He hurt Ally. He hurt Josh. He killed my parents. This wouldn't be the end of it, but he won't get anything out of me, except my name.

"I gave you an order Scummy," Edgar hissed again. "_**Where is my son**_?"

"My name is Sarah," I almost shouted.

Edgar's face turned even more sour as he raised his arm.

"Fine," he sneered. "Have it your way,"

I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the impact. Instead, I felt a little jolt. Opening my eyes slowly, I saw the Batman, holding back my Uncle Edgar's fist from smacking me. Edgar yelled out a bit. Cringing, I could hear a bone or two break in his hand. Batman glared through his mask.

"She said her name was _**Sarah**_," he growled in his animalistic voice.

With one hit across the face, Batman brought my Uncle Edgar to the ground before I could blink. Then the backstage was silent, except for Ally's stirring. Turning my attention toward her, I knelt by her side, helping her sit up when she started to awake.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

"Yeah," Ally groaned. "...Sarah, you're bleeding,"

"It's nothing. I'm fine,"

"Come here," Batman said to me.

Obediently, I stepped up to the Batman as he pulled out a small piece of black cloth, and gently pressed it against my cheek to stop the flowing blood. From behind me, Ally just sat on the floor, open mouthed. I know. Hard to believe, right? Looking up, the Batman never took his eyes off me.

"Are _you_ okay?" he asked me.

I nodded, putting my hand on top of his that was holding my cheek.

"Thank you," I said, wincing a bit.

Before, he never noticed. But given the situation, Batman noticed every physical discomfort in me. He had notice me wince. Crouching down to my level, with the eyes of a concerned parent, a look that I had never seen before in his face, he slowly turned my head from side to side. His other hand gently held my chin as he studied my face. I was ashamed of myself now. I wanted to turn away, but...the way he was looking at my bruises...it was almost as if there were tears in his eyes. I didn't want to turn away from his masked face. It was the only proof that I had of his identity on whether or not he acted human. He looked to Edgar, and back at me.

"Did he do this to you?" he asked me.

"...I'm sorry," I started sobbing. "I couldn't--I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me. I didn't mean for Ally to get hurt. I'm so sorry,"

Gently, Batman pulled me into his arms, almost cradling me there, rocking me as I sobbed on his shoulder. Ally was even brave enough to come close, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You're safe," Batman whispered in my ear. "No one's going to hurt you anymore. I promise. I'll be here,"

His lips brushed against my cheek, almost as if he wanted to give me a fatherly kiss. Ally backed away in a solemn manner, knowing that I should be left alone. Batman wrapped his cape around me in a quiet way, I barely noticed the cape around my shoulders.

"Relax," he said softly. "It's over,"

I heard footsteps come in, and a woman gasp. Rachel. She was here.

"Ally!" I heard Mrs. Farris. "Are you all right?"

"Mr. Mason just appeared out of nowhere," Ally started testifying. "He wouldn't let her go. I tried to stop him--"

I felt a hand on my shoulder as Ally continued her side of the story. Slowly looking up, I saw Rachel looking shocked as she looked at my bruised face.

"What happened?" she asked me. "Did he hurt you?"

I nodded as the Batman pushed my head gently back on his shoulder, knowing that I would be a bit upset some more. I heard a little winding noise then...And Sergeant Gordon's voice.

"Mr. Mason," he said as I looked up. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you downtown and ask you a few questions,"

Two policemen were alongside Edgar, as they pulled him up in handcuffs. He was holding his hand, wincing as he flexed his fingers.

"My hand," he hissed. "That Batfreak broke my hand!"

All right, that's it. I just went from upset to totally mad. Standing up and throwing the black cape off my shoulders, I had the courage to talk back at my Uncle.

"He's not a freak!" I snapped at him. "You are!"

"Sarah--" Rachel put her hands on my shoulders, trying to pull me away.

"Why you insolent little--"Edgar started, wanting to tear me limb from limb.

"Scum of the Narrows?" I interuppted. "Go ahead. Say it. Everyone's heard it, and so have I,"

Suddenly, Edgar had this sickly smile on his face. It made Batman stand up, with an angry look in his eyes. I had suddenly realized that if my Uncle went to jail, it would only be for child abuse. Not murder. This was not over, and everyone that was with me at that time knew it. Almost as if he was simply giving up, the cops started leading him away again.

"Wait," I started.

"Now what?" Edgar snapped at me. "What do you have to say that is so important?"

I smiled a bit...which made my Uncle Edgar look surprise. Why was I smiling?

"I'm not afraid of you," I said simply, as the Batman placed his hands on my shoulders. "...That was the secret that I wouldn't tell you,"

(A/N: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hallelujah! I finally finished this chapter. I am so sorry that I didn't update sooner. I'm still looking for a job, and still performing, and going on dates, so it's been so hard to even type a sentance without having to do something else. I hope you liked this chappie. But remember. The fight's not over. Not even close. Check back for more chapters real soon, but be sure to review. I hope you enjoyed it!)


	23. Somewhere in the Knight

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

Later that night, I'm sitting on Ally's bed, in her room, dressed in a white tank top and black pajama pants. Ally and I were stuffing our faces with all sorts of snacks, laughing, and talking about random stuff. We still couldn't get over about what happened at the school, but other than that, we were having a good time. Rachel and Alfred (who I saw later after they had arrested my Uncle Edgar), said that it would be all right that I can spend the night with Ally. Besides, if they said no, Ally would just keep on begging. When we were led out of the school, I had never been so gaurded in my entire life. Sergeant Gordon was by my right, and Rachel on the other, leading me with the Farris's to the car, before people would come out and notice what happened. To my disappoinment, the Batman disappeared before we had a chance to see him again. I was kind of upset that I didn't get a chance to formerly say Thank You. On our way back to the Farris Manor, Ally could never stop asking me questions about the Batman, despite the headache she had recieved from Edgar's hit. And up to now, she was still asking me questions.

"So what?" she kept asking. "Is he really a bat? Is he real?"

"What do you mean 'real'?" I asked as I dropped some skittles into my open mouth. "Like he's actually a person?"

"Yeah. Is he?"

"Of course he is...I've told you that 5 times already,"

Suddenly, the lights flickered off and on. Wow...That was strange. I raised an eyebrow, and looked at Ally, laughing a bit.

"What just happened?" I asked, reaching for another brownie.

"Ugh," Ally groaned. "Our new security guard, Ethan. He's new, and still a bit confused as to what switch turns on the porch lights,"

I giggled a bit as someone knocked on Ally's door.

"Come on in," Ally gave permission.

"Sorry to bother you Miss Allison and Miss Sarah," a maid walked in, nodding her head once to us as if we were royalty. "But Miss Sarah has a visitor,"

Ally gasped, almost a bit in excitement.

"Who is it?" she asked. "Batman? I knew it!"

"Ally," I started, almost getting annoyed. "I am pretty sure Batman wouldn't use the front door to enter someone's house,"

"Well, then, who is it?"

"Bruce Wayne," the maid replied.

Ally and I snapped our heads up, and looked at each other. Bruce was here! In a flash, I grabbed a spare bathrobe, leapt off the bed, and hurried as fast as I could downstairs. Ally followed close behind me.

"Question--" she started.

"If this is about Batman--" I said, tying my robe around my waist.

"No! It's about your godfather,"

"...OK,"

"Has he seen Batman?"

Stopping, I turned on one foot to face Ally. She had an innocent toothy grin on her face. It looked like she was having fun asking me all these questions. But I swear, with all the answers I'm giving her, she'll have enough information to start her own website. I sighed in frustration.

"You said this wasn't about Batman," I pointed out.

"It's not," Ally debated politely. "It just has Batman as the subject,"

"...Yeah, Bruce has seen him. But he doesn't like bats, and that's as far as I'm going there. Can I go now? He's waiting for me,"

Ally waved her arms up in the air, letting me go...for now anyway. Practically sliding in Ally's fuzzy warm pink slippers I borrowed on the marble floor, I raced downstairs to meet Bruce. My heart was beating like a buzzing hummingbird. I hadn't seen my godfather for two days and I really missed him. When I reached downstairs, I heard Mr. and Mrs. Farris talking in the parlor with Bruce behind a closed door. My eyes brightened as I reached to knock, but something caught by attention. Crouching on th ground, I pressed my ear on the woooden door, listening to a conversation that I shouldn't have to listen to.

"How bad did he hurt her?" I heard Bruce.

"...It looked like she struggled," Mr. Farris replied. "She told the police that Edgar locked her and Josh in their rooms yesterday, and kept them from school. Later she was able to get themselves out, and while exploring the mansion, Josh was screaming. She looked like she put up a good fight. There's a bruise by her right eye..."

I heard Bruce sigh as I slowly crept a hand to the side of my face, remembering the first hit I recieved.

"...One on her forearm, leg, and stomach,"

"We suppose," Mrs. Farris stated. "That she was trying to be the hero, and be brave,"

A Hero? Me? Brave?...Yeah right. Silently, I stood up straight, tightening the robe around my waist more. How can I be called a hero if I didn't win the fight? How can I be brave if I was terrified when I fought my uncle? How come it has to be me that has to be those things? I heard someone come to te door. Gasping in audibly, I tip toed quickly away so it would look like I was just coming down the stairs. Going two at a time, I heard Mrs. Farris.

"I'll go and see if she's on her way down," she said, out of my sight.

Standing up straight, I began walking down the stairs again, my hand gliding on the smooth, marble banister. My feet hardly made a sound as Mrs. Farris noticed me, and greeted me with warm, motherly smile.

"There you are," she said as I reached the final step.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Farris nodded as she but a gentle arm around my shoulders. "You have a visitor who would like to speak to you,"

"Bruce," I confirmed.

Mrs. Farris looked at me with a kind smile, and nodded. When she opened the door to the parlor, I immedietly ran in and wrapped my arms around Bruce's neck, who gave me a gentle hug in return. Mr. and Mrs. Farris left us alone, and as soon as the doors closed, I broke apart first, and started talking.

"I can't believe you're here," I could contain my excitement. "I've missed you so much,"

"Me too," Bruce gave a small smile. "...From what I hear from Ally's parents, you two gave quite the performance tonight,"

"You mean what happened at the school? Well...That was sort of--like a spur of the moment kind of thing. We never actually planned--"

"Sarah,"

I stopped, looking at Bruce more clearly. His face was serious and his eyes were stern as they looked at me. For the first tim in a while, I was a bit nervous to talk with him. He pointed to the couch, telling me to take a seat. As if I was on my way to a death sentence, I plopped down on the couch, hands in lap, and head almost down, ashamed to look at Bruce as he sat next to me.

"Sarah," he said to me, more softly. "Listen to me. I'm not mad at you. I'm just disappointed. You've done some pretty reckless things in the past few days. Can you tell me why?"

"...I guess I was trying to be brave," I said quietly. "Like you and Alfred, Batman, Rachel, Mom, and Dad,"

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"Who said you had to be brave?" he asked me.

I shrugged.

"It's what people wanted," I answered.

Bruce shook his head.

"Sarah," he started. "Being brave does not mean that you can't tell someone that you are being physically abused...Asking for help is actually a sigh of strength when you're in trouble,"

"But I didn't want anyone to get hurt," I protested.

"The only person that was getting was you: Being too prideful and too headstrong to let anyone in to help you...You had us all worried sick, you and Josh. They found him in that town you were going to run to a half hour ago. His mother's been informed, and she's on her way from Paris to meet him,"

I looked at Bruce strangely, wondering how he knew about this. No one else knew about my plan to run away.

"How did you know about that?" I asked softly.

"Someone found the train ticket in your backpack," Bruce replied.

"Batman?"

"No. Haley Kingston,"

My eyes were wide. No way. NO WAY! Haley Kingston wentthrough my stuff and took away a personal item, and turned me in. Why that little--ARGH! Groaning out loud, my hands covered my face as I leaned back.

"Haley was actually trying to help you," Bruce said.

"More like getting back at me for what I did to her stupid dress," I grumbled under my breath.

"Sarah, she gave us a clue to what was going on,"

"Bruce, you don't think I tried to tell you that I was in trouble?"

"Calm down,"

"No," I stood up and faced Bruce. "No. I won't calm down, because you won't let me explain what happened. Edgar made me call Alfred and say that I was sick. I would've called him back if he didn't take the phone with him. The only communication I had with another person was through a walkie talkie! And Batman--"

"This isn't about Batman, Sarah," Bruce thought I was changing the subject

"I know it's not, but I trust him. I got sick my first night at the Masons, and he stayed with me until I fell asleep...and I still didn't tell him,"

"...Why didn't you tell him?"

"...I didn't tell him or anybody else because after someone emotionally and physically abuses you for most of your life, it feels like they're watching you...Bruce, look at me. Look at what Edgar did to me. I was protecting Josh. I fought back. I did what I thought you would do if someone was in trouble. You can't see that? You of all people should see that! You're my godfather! You're supposed to--Ugh!"

I couldn't finish my sentence. I turned my back towards Bruce, and stared into the glowing fireplace. My eyes grew watery from staring at the dancing flames and the leaping sparks. A hand went down on my shoulders as Bruce came up from behind me...the way he did that...I didn't even hear him get up. Someone else had done it to me like that...But who?

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I intended to comfort you, and instead I made you feel worse...I guess I said all those things was because I didn't know what to say. I know your mother would've been traumatic if she saw you in this situation,"

"... For as long as I can remember, she devoted her life to protecting others," I said softly. "I wanted to be like her,"

"You are her, and much more. And that makes me happy because I'm proud to say that tomorrow morning, you're coming back to live with me and Alfred,"

Letting out an inaudible gasp, I turned around to face my godfather. That small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as I hugged him, my head resting on his chest. A tear fell down my bruised cheek as Bruce stroked my head gently, letting the strands of my blode hair sweep through his fingers. The way he did that made me uneasy with the thought that that had happened before. I tried to remember who had done it, but some unseen force had blocked it from my memory. But I did remember that even if I was able to go back with Bruce, my life would still be in jepordy. Though Edgar was in custody, it wasn't for murder. It was for the abuse he used on two children, who were practically hostages in their, quote on quote, "home". Fear of Edgar coming for me sent icy chills up my spine. I gasped involuntarily, and broke away from Bruce.

"What's the matter?" he asked concerned.

"Nothing," I lied, gasping for air.

Bruce had me sit back down on the couch, telling me to take deep slow breaths as he rubbed my back in a comforting way.

"Something else is bothering you," he said softly.

"...What if Edgar...What if he..." I stammered to find the right words. "If he takes me again--"

"It's possible Edgar might be able to bail himself out," Bruce understood what I was trying to say. "But I promise you, Edgar will not, and cannot take you away again. I won't allow it. The police won't allow it. Batman won't allow it. And Social Services won't allow it. They haven't been allowing it for years,"

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"I promise," Bruce said again. "I'll explain everything tomorrow night over dinner. Besides...It's time you know what's really been going on,"

"What_ has_ been going on?"

"...Tomorrow night. Over dinner. I promise you that things will make more sense by then,"

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Sarah," Ally said, excited. "This is great. Everything's going back to normal,"

I smiled. An hour later, I was back in Ally's room, sitting on a twin bed that was set up for me. Everyone was inside for the night, most of the Farris household sleeping soundly. Not a loud crash would wake them. Not even the loud, nasty, and windy thunderstorm going on outside. The weather report said that it was going to last all night, and advised us to stay inside so that we wouldn't feel like we're taking a shower with our clothes on. I sat up on my bed as Ally spoke again..

"Do you think Batman fights crime in thunderstorns?" she asked.

I groaned, falling backwards on the bed.

"Ally," I complained.

"What?" Ally wondered what she had done wrong.

"Don't you think that's a bit rhetorical? Besides, I don't think he's out tonight,"

"How come?"

"It's too windy outside. He'll be losing control of the way he flys,"

Ally's eyes lit up.

"He actually flys?" she asked. "No way! That's awesome! What else can he do?"

Oh man. She's never going to stop bugging me about Batman. Aw well, I guess I better humor her. I sat up more, my back resting against the head board.

"OK," I said. "I surrender. I'm open for questions. What do you want to know?"

Ally's smile widened, and sat up, ready for an interview.

"OK," she started eagerly. "For starters, what's with the voice he's got? I mean, does he have a bad cough, did he used to smoke, or something like that?"

"My guess is that it's his Batman voice," I answered immedietly. "I've heard him speak in a different voice before,"

"Awesome. Does he a daytime job, or something?"

"As far as going around at night in a cape, and fighting crime, I have no idea,"

"What about his face? Have you seen what he looks like under the mask?"

"...No. The only thing I know about his face is that he has light green eyes, and I feel like I've seen them before, but I don't know who it is,"

"So? A lot of people have light green eyes. Nathan has light green eyes," Ally fought my response. "...I don't get it. I mean, from all the times you've been with this guy, I'd expect him to tell you who he is. Come on, he can trust you. Heck, he can even trust me,"

"Somehow I highly doubt that," I joked.

Ally gasped dramatically, and threw a small pillow at me. I laughed a bit as I ducked out of the way. She knew I was joking so I didn't have anything to worry about.

"I don't know," I said about Batman's true identity. "If anything, I think he's protecting me by not tellin me his real name. The scary part is that he knows more about me than I do about him,"

"Like what?"

"He knew my parents first names,"

Ally shrugged

"He probably read about them in the paper," she replied. "I know I did,"

"He knew where Wayne Manor was when I was still living with Bruce, and he knew where the Mason Mansion was,"

"Sarah, everyone in the whole city of Gotham knows where the grandest and the creepiest houses are,"

"He knew about my guardianship problem,"

Ally was about to speak, but stopped.

"...OK," she said cautiously. "Now that's just weird. Very few people knew about that,"

"I know," I agreed. "Creepy huh?"

"Yeah, in a cool way...Hey, do you have a picture of youre parents? I wanna see it,"

"Sure,"

I moved out of the bed, and knelt next to my backpack that sat by the closet. I can't believe that I actually took it off. Maybe I wanted to keep it safe or something. But something happened. I couldn't find it. Going from scared to frantic, I spilled the contents of my backpack.

"What's wrong?" Ally asked.

"My locket's gone!" I nearly shouted.

"Calm down," Ally got out of her bed. "I'm sure it's in there somewhere,"

"No! My backpack's completely empty. Someone must've...Oh no..."

"What?"

"Haley Kingston,"

"...Oh no she didn't!"

"Oh yes," I stood up, mad as heck. "_She did_,"

Ally growled in a bit of annoyance.

"Why that--" she said through her teeth. "Ugh, she so fits the criteria of evil prep: Snitcher, Sassy, _and_ a Thief,"

"Aren't you a prep too?" I asked, furroing my eyebrows.

Ally shrugged.

"Yeah," she admitted. "But I'm the good kind of prep: The kind that's actually **human**...Look, why don't we get some sleep? We can squeal on Haley before breakfast in the morning,"

"Squeal?" I repeated, moving toward my bed. "The rate I'm going, I want to file a report on her,"

"Relax," Ally got under the covers on hrt bed. "If I know Haley, and sadly I do, she won't do anything to it,"

"That locket means the world to me. It's all I have left of my parents,"

"...I believe it's safe,"

I was confused as Ally turned off the lamp between our beds, and settled in, her back facing me. Leaning towards her, I asked Ally a question.

"Why do you think my locket's safe?" I asked.

"Oh come on," Ally's tired voice sounded. "You of all people should believe in guardian angels. You practically have one of your won. I mean, I believe in angels. Don't you?"

Silence filled the room until I heard nothing but the thunderstorm outside, and Ally's soft breathing. Exhaling, I laid myself down on the bed, and thought about everything I've heard and seen since my stor began. I don't know if I believe in guardian angels. There have been stories that angels help people in situations with inexplicable solutions. But I doubt that an angel would help me out in the form of a bat. Despite my excitement to go back home with Bruce in the morning, I could hardly keep my eyes open. Slowly closing my eyelids, I waited for sleep to come to my need. But a small sound, admist the boastful thunderstorm outside, was able to reach my ears. I thought it was all my imagination from lack of good sleep for the past two nights, however Ally let out a sleepy grunt.

"Listen," she whispered, hardly awake. "Do you hear that?"

Listening, I tried to see what the noise sounded like. It wasn't easy, needless to say, to hear it through the bad weather. Somehow, I was able to find out what it was.

"It sounds like one of your dogs," I declared softly.

"Genghas," Ally confirmed. "That's funny. I thought Nathan brought him inside with the other two before mom and dad told us to go to bed...Man, that means I have to go get him,"

"That's okay," I protested. "You're hardly awake. I'll go and get him,"

"You sure?" Ally whispered, lying back down.

"Positive. I'll be back in 10 minutes,"

"I'll be **asleep** in _2 minutes_...Be careful out there,"

"I will,"

(A/N: I don't own "Hear Me" By Kelly Clarkson)

As Ally went back to sleep in a wonderful slumberland, I started changing into some clothes. It wouldn't be that smart going out in pajamas in the middle of a storm. Putting my hair in a ponytail, and dressing in a pink tank top, jeans, a denim midrif long sleeved jacket, and my old puma tennis shoes, I took a flashlight, and quietly snuck out of the Farris mansion, not knowing that there were dangers that awaited me out front.

_**...Hear me...Hear me...**_

When I had made it downstairs, I stopped for a moment, with my hand on the doorknob. Something inside me said that I should stay inside. For whatever reason, I don't know why. I thought about staying inside for a few short seconds, but something else protested that. Everytime I listened to my gut, it always landed me in trouble. BIG trouble. So, maybe this time, I should listen to my head. And my head was telling me to get Ally's dog inside and out of the pouring rain. Unlocking the door silently, I grabbed a leash that was on a nearby table, left the flashlight, and slipped outside, rain drops immedietly pelting me as hard as they could.

_**You gotta be out there...You gotta be somewhere...Wherever you are...I'm waiting...**_

I followed the golden retrievers barking over the roaring thunderstorm. He didn't seem tha tfar away from the house, but I hurried as fast as I could so that I could get back inside sooner. As I ran on the slippery grass, I noticed the security guard house. It seemed suspicious at first to find its lights off and no guard inside. But then I though that there was a power surge a second ago, or something like that. Not thinking any further on the subject, I went back on thinking to bring Genghas back inside and to not catch a cold, needless to say. There he was, standing on all four legs, barking at nothing in particular. He didn't seem to notice me, so I casually moved toward him.

"What are you doing out here, boy?" I cooed softly as I put the leash on him. "Huh? Come on, let's get you inside where it's nice and warm,"

Genghas continued barking, practically at nothing. All I took was one look at the direction he was facing, and shook my head.

"There nothing out there," I said to him as if he understood me. "Come on. We have to get inside,"

Suddenly, I heard a loud click right behind me. I stopped, the dogs leash inside my fist tightly. Slowly being frozen, from fear and the cold rain, I was able to stand up straight. The click belonged to a gun, and the barrel of it was touching the back of my wet head.

"Make one wrong move," an unfamiliar voice whispered in my ear. "And you've got an unpleasent execution waiting for you when this is all over,"

I stayed as calm as I could, my breathing soft, but long. The captor's breath smelled foul of cigarettes and alchhol. It made a memory flash in my head of Edgar hitting me the other night. The captor movied to tie my wrists together as I secretly wished that I should've trusted my gut, and stayed inside. Slowly, I let the dog leash slip from my fingers...

_**Cause there are these nights when I sing myself to sleep. And I'm hoping my dreams will bring you close to me. Are you listening?...**_

Suddenly, my captor started yelling in pain as Genghas immedietly took action, sinking his teeth into the gunman's leg.. This was my chance to get away. Not looking back, I started to run for the safety of my life.

_**Hear me, I'm crying out. I'm ready now.**_

Secretly thanking Ally's dog in my head, I raced with the storm, the growing and yells of pain growing farther and fainter behind me.

"Keep running," I motivated myself softly. "Don't look back. Just keep moving. Don't stop,"

_**Turn my world upside down. Find me.**_

Although the struggle of man and "man's best friend" was far from me, I heard a painful whimper in the dark. A whimper of a dog. I didn't hear a gunshot, but I knew that Genghas was hurt. I whipped my head to face the direction I was running from, regardless of the advice I had given myself earlier.

"Oh no," I whispered.

_**I'm lost inside this crowd. It's getting loud.**_

I could hear grunting behind me. Grunts of pain. I felt trapped. Obviously, this guys will stop at nothing to get me, and Ally's yard was big and dark enough to get me lost, despite the siutation of getting away.

_**I need you to see, I'm screaming for you to please...**_

A lightbulb went out in my head. Ally's yard had trees. Really big trees, at least big enough to climb. Making up my mind, I trusted my instincts this time, and climbed up a nearby tree for refuge.

_**Hear me...Can you hear me?...Hear me...**_

My captor came into view below me as I clung onto an old thick branch, my arms wrapped around it, and my head resting on the bark. I never really got a clear look at his face, but the guy who was attempting to kidnap me definetly had a bloodied up leg that was going to need bandages. A LOT of bandages. Suddenly, just when he was about to move on, luck seemed to turn against me. The thick branch I was holding onto was starting to break. A loud crack made me wince and groan in my head. My captor stayed, looking around.

_**I used to be scared of letting someone in. But it gets so lonely being on my own**_

"Batman," I cried out in my head as the branch broke more. "Help me. Please. I need you to help me. I need you here,"

_**No one to talk to and no one to hold me. I'm not always strong. Oh, I need you here. Are you listening?**_

SNAP! The branch completely broke off from the tree, and fell off with me attached to it. I landed on top of who would be my kidnapper, bringing us both to the ground. I acted as if he was a giant venomnous snake and tried to crawl away from him. Before I could get up and run again, the guy grabbed my ankle while still on te ground, and I fell back down. Planting my hands firmly as I could on the wet grass, I struggled to get his strong grip off of me. BAM! I stomped my foot on his face right on the nose. Yelling out in pain, he let me go, and I jumped on my feet, and started running again.

_**Hear me, I'm crying out. I'm ready now. Turn my world upside down. Find me. I'm lost inside this crowd. It's getting loud. I need you to see. I'm screaming for you to please...Hear me**_

My attempt to run appeared to be useless. The guy caught up with me, and grabbed me in a suffocating bear grip, keeping my arms at my sides with one strong arm. I struggled with all my might, yelling, and kicking my legs in the air.

"Help!" I screamed out. "Somebody please! Help me!"

But it seemed that I was mute, for my voice was tuned out by the thunder. No one was coming to help me...No one at all.

_**I'm restless and wild. I fall, but I try. I need someone to understand. Can you hear me?**_

I struggled still, fighting for my right to be free. My captor moved to get something as he kept me hostage in his grip.. It was my surprise, when I looked from the corner of my eye, to find some sort of syringe with this really big needle, sticking straight out.

"No!" I pleaded, fearing for the worst. "Don't!"

_**I'm lost in my thoughts. And baby, I've fought for all that I've got. Can you hear me?**_

The sharp, stinging pain started as soon as the guy practically stabbed the needle into my neck.. As the captor released me, everything seemed to slow down. Holding my neck, I let out a scream that I thought could be heard over the storm, and collapsed on my knees.

_**Hear me, I'm crying out. I'm ready now**_

My neck was burning, and tears of pain streamed down my cheeks. The guy just stood there, watching me in my excruciating situation.

_**Turn my world upside down. Find me**_

I didn't feel myself crash completely on the wet grass. Everything seemed upside down or in a funny shape. I fought to keep my eyes open. I told myself to stay awake, and that someone would come and rescue me before I would be able to close my eyes.

_**I'm lost inside this crowd. It's getting loud.**_

I looked up to the sky as my vision was starting to get blurry...Why didn't he come? Why didn't Batman come and save me? He promised he'd be watching my every move, and make sure that I would be safe.

_**I need you to see. I'm screaming for you to please...Hear me**_

I was suddenly picked up in my captors arms. I wanted to fight back, but my body didn't get the message. Everything was limp: My arms, my legs, my head, and my neck was still burning from the needle. The only thing that clouded my mind was one thought, repeating over and over again:

"Save me please"

_**Hear me. Hear me.Can you hear me?**_

The next thing that happened, I felt my head collide with a cushioned surface as I was thrown in the backseat of a car. I couldn't get up. Everything was going wrong. The door slammed, and a few short seconds later, tires burned rubber as the car took off, taking me away. I had this gut feeling that I would never see the ones I cared for again

_**Hear me. Hear me. Can you hear me?**_

I stole one last look to the window, and saw a hazy night sky. Searching for any sign of the Caped Crusader, my hopes vanished when I saw nothing. As darkness consumed my energy and vision like a thick blanket, I managed to mummble one thing.

"Can you hear me Batman?" I whispered before losing conciousness

_**Hear me. Hear me. Hear me**_.

(A/N: If you guys want to know what happens next, Review...Am I really that bad at leaving cliffhangers? If I am, that means I'm doing a pretty good job aren't I? Review please, and I'll update as soon as possible)


	24. The Darkest Discoveries

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

There are some people in this world who wake up remembering what they had done before their eyes close. Others cannot remember until they are fully awake.

I am among the few who cannot remember anything at all when dosed with anesthesia.

Cold concrete against my sweaty cheeks was the first thing I felt when I was allowed precious time in reality.Why did my neck hurt at one side? Why did my face feel hot as I was going on a never ending battle with a sickness in my stomach? How come I could not remember anything? My brain was so fuzzy, I could only recollect that my name was Sarah and that I was twelve years old.

Nothing else...Nothing at all.

Voices echo above my head, accompanied with the symphony of loud, vibrating footsteps as they circled around me. The loudness...the footsteps were so loud, it hurt me. I wanted it to stop. My fingers barely moved in my attempt to cover my ears. A simper that sounded small and barely audible was the only thing that proved to me that I was still alive.

The voices were talking about something...It was badly distorted, that I was almost thought that I was just hearing nonsense in my delusional head. I could only make out a few words like "account","money","password","bat", and "poison". Nothing resided in my memory at the moment to connect these strange clues together. Whatever they were, I knew it would not be good. An evil floated above me in the darkness as I felt someone's cold eyes looks at my helpless unconscious face. It was chilly as it ran up and down my spine with a familiar tingle of fear in each shudder, Slithering voices licked my ears as they became clear as a snakes unfaltering hiss,

"She stays in here, unless otherwise," Someone I knew from my nightmares commanded.

"You sure no one knows we're here?" asked a deep, new voice.

"Of course! The whole community was taken into quarantine days ago. No one ever comes here now because they think that Scarecrow buffoon, or whatever they call him, will come and kill them,"

"But you--"

"Yes, I know. I've seen him once before, but that was for a business deal and he didn't have the mask on. I gave him 5 thousand dollars if he gave me video footage I needed. The deal ran through perfectly, along with a certain...bonus"

"Like what?"

"...Let's just say that if we use it to our advantage, we'll only be charged with computer fraud"

If I was able to, I would just cry out in fear. I didn't know what could be worse: Knowing what they would do to me or not knowing at all. Mallets were playing at a fast tempo on my heart, trying to see if it could accelerate up to a high rate of fear. I wanted to scream out for help, but I knew that I could be trapped in the middle of nowhere. Numbly, I prayed in my foggy mind that someone knew where I was, come find me, rescue me, and take me home

...Or wherever home was to me. I wish that if I wasn't still suffering from the drug that had me unconscious, then I would be able to remember.

"You said she'd be easy to kidnap," snapped the deep voice all of a sudden. "You never said she would fight back,"

Fought back? I fought back? What did I do? What had I done to try and save myself?

"So she learned a few moves," that familiar voice spat. "She's still the same little, naive brat she was since the day she was born,"

He knew me. Whoever had kidnapped me knew me. Why couldn't I remember anything? Why am I here? What did they want from me?

The voices became distorted again. The incoherent sound that passed their lips made became babbling nonsense to me once again. I think tears of fright, confusion, and sadness rolled down my heated chicks before I slipped back unconscious again. As I blacked out, I wished to be in someone's trusting arms before it was too late.

* * *

When Bruce had received a call from the police at Wayne Enterprises before an early morning meeting with Lucius Fox, he knew it would not be good news. The moment he heard Sergeant Gordon say that Sarah was kidnapped late last night, he thought he would at first just stand there, still gripping the phone next to his ear. But he quickly pulled together, asked Fox to stay behind in case he needed anything, and practically ran out of the building to his car, on the way to the Farris Mansion. Gotham Police were already there, investigating the grounds and some of inside. They had the Farris family being questioned with the security guards and, if there was any, possible suspects along with them. Bruce didn't ask what happened when he received the call. He slammed the breaks on his black expensive car when he pulled into the driveway that was already inhabited by other cars, one or two of which belong to Gotham City Police. Ripping off his seatbelt, he almost kicked the door open as he found Rachel Dawes rushing out to meet him. She had been called down too to be questioned as well, considering that she and Bruce were friends with the girls dead parents.

"Rachel" Bruce almost shouted as they hurried to the door.

"Bruce," Rachel followed him in a quick pace. "Remember: As far as we know, she's still alive. I'm sure of it,"

"What happened?"

"Ally Farris noticed Sarah wasn't in bed this morning," Rachel explained as they dodged a few investigators. "She wasn't anywhere. All they found was their dog. He was lying on the grass out front with a broken leg and blood on his fur,"

Bruce stopped and grabbed Rachel by the arm, almost in a rough manner. He stared at her with a worried look.

"Rachel--" he started slowly.

"I don't know if it's her blood," Rachel interrupted. "They've sent a sample in to be tested"

Though she didn't show it, the tremble in her voice was enough to convince Bruce that Rachel was getting ready to cry. He pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back as she sobbed on his shoulder.

" I saw the blood," she managed to say through a small sob. "...They--They found a needle on the ground...He had to drug her so she wouldn't scream..."

"We'll find her," Bruce comforted her. "We both promised Jennifer we'll look after her and keep her safe"

Letting out one last sob, Rachel nodded, composing herself to be calm. Bruce held her there for as long as he wanted, before they had to go into the parlor where they would be questioned. The thought of his goddaughter being kept somewhere in the hands of what could be a merciless killer made him practically angry and deathly worried. She could still be unconscious or awake(both could be very unpleasing scenarios for her), cold, hungry, tired, and in the dark with a sick feeling in her gut that she would die. He knew some part of her was still afraid. That's what made her liker her mother. When Rachel pulled herself together, Bruce quietly ;ed her into the parlor. Commissioner Loeb, along with Sergeant Gordon was standing on front of the fireplace, looking at a row of certain people. A few security guards stood close to the door, next to the Farris family. Ally;'s face looked apple red, her cheeks stained with previous worry as her eyes dropped sleepily, her head on her father's shoulder. Mrs. Farris had an arm around Nathan, as he stroked one of the other dogs fur for comfort. Sitting in a dark green arm chair was Edgar Mason, his hand in a cast from what Batman had done. Discreetly, Bruce smirked as he remembered the wonderful feeling he had as he crushed that creep's hand. Sitting next to Rachel on a couch in the other side of the room, Bruce was spoken to by Commissioner Loeb.

"Mr. Wayne" he nodded. "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry it couldn't be on better terms,"

"Dear commissioner," Edgar said in a sick, polite voice. "Could you tell us what happened to the poor girl?"

Even though she was though to be almost asleep, Ally shuddered of Edgar's tender voice and snuggled closer to her father. It was a wonder no one had died from fear of hearing that awful man speak. There was a slight pause before Commissioner Loeb explained everything.

"What we've gathered from the forensics team," he started. :We found a few samples of blood on the dog's--Genghis, correct?--fur and muzzle area. We've already sent some in to be analyzed. The result should come in an hour or so. There were also traces of burnt rubber on the driveway, and anesthesia in the needle the children discovered outside. Mrs Farris, did your children touch it when they found it this morning?"

"No," Mr.s Farris.softly replied with a shaking head. "We were with them,"

Loeb nodded and continued after a bit of silence.

"...I'm sorry to say that we have no leads, and ready leads, or suspects to the kidnapping. Mr. Wayne, we've already questioned everyone else here, and all seem to be clear on their alibis. You woudn't mind if I ask you a few things wouldn't you?"

Bruce was about to reply when Mr. Farris spoke.

"Wait a second," he interrupted. "We have a guard missing...Where's Ethan?"

"Peak?" Gordon spoke up, asking Ethan's last name. He's clear. Crashed his car in a ditch last night on his way home,"

This had aroused the young billionaires interest a bit. It was a bit strange to dins that the missing security guard just happened to get into a car crash around the time of the kidnapping. Unfortunately, he also had to see the typical reasons: It was a nasty storm last night. The roads would have been extra slippery and anyone had to have been cautioned to drive safely. When the reason for Ethan's absence was explained, Mrs. Farris put a hand to her chest, her brown eyes full of worry.

"Goodness" she exclaimed lightly. "Is he all right?"

"Just a broken nose and a nasty gash on the leg," Gordon reassured the group. "The only serious damage was done to the car. We've checked out the auto shop down in the city,"

"Mr. Wayne," Commissioner Loeb got back to the questioning. "Do you know anyone who would want to harm your goddaughter, or use her as bait to get to you?"

"...Well," Bruce let out a calm breath of air. "As far as I know, the only person that would harm her is Mr. Mason,"

"I was just bailed out this morning," Edgar replied smugly. "But until this unfortunate event blows away, a hearing for me can't be scheduled"

You can assume Ally wanted to nastily comment ti that, but she shouldn't. Her parents were with her, and it would not be plot...Well, forget the reasons why she shouldn't, because her daring mind and mouth were going to run away with her. Sitting up from her fathers warm, safe arms, Ally glared at Edgar as though as he was as evil as he could get, without knowing that he possessed the cold heart of a ruthless murderer.

"Well," she said, almost snapping sarcastically. "What do you want to show for it? A stupid medal?'

"Allison," Mrs. Farris scolded softly.

Ally did nothing to protest as her father quietly pulled her back into his arms. She didn't are what she said, but she was glad she had done so. Someone had to do it. All she did was merely take the burden. Deep in her hear, Ally knew her parents were not mad at the disrespect she had shown to a guest in their home. Edgar, as predicted, did not approve of this kid of behavior. Especially when it was directed to him. And by a child, nonetheless. Leaning forward in his chair and ice cold glare targeted the twelve year old brunette from Edgar's eyes. Frightened a small bit, Ally leaned in closer to her father, still as a statue to turn away from that soul-devouring look.

"You know Jonathon," Edgar slithered. "You should teach your children more about respecting their superiors"

Mr. Farris pulled his daughter closer, defensively.

"Don't tell me how to raise my kids," he shot at him almost shouting.

Bruce had watched all this in quiet interest. There was something in Edgar's eyes and in Bruce's heart that some part of all this wasn't true. The story didn't make any sense. And he wanted it to. Standing up, he held up his hands, in a calm defense for peace between the two men that would argue if no one stopped them. They all had to focus

"Gentlemen, please," he said softly. "That's enough"

Mr. Farris seemed to calm down as Ally looked up. Edgar just smiled thinly, in a heartless way. Looking up at his priceless platinum gold watch, he stood up, exhaling as if he was exhausted from all this.

"Well," he said to all who was willing to hear. "I'm afraid I must leave you. I have a doctor's appointment in half an hour. Commissioner, Sergeant, Mr. Farris...Mr. Wayne,"

All four gentlemen did not return any goodbyes to the snake that was leaving the Farris man-ions. The women and children had mostly been quiet through all this. The clock chimed noon on the old grandfather clock. Waking up half asleep Nathan, Mrs. Farris rose from her seat.

"Ally," she turned to her daughter. 'Why don't you and your brother go upstairs and get dressed into some more comfortable clothes?"

Obeying to their mothers wishes, Ally and Nathan walked out of the parlor, their heads low with weariness and worry. Half the morning, Nathan had cried, petrified of what would happen if their friend would never be rescued. As they walked out into the silent hall, he turned to Ally. He knew that h could always looked to his big sister for comfort.

"Ally," he meekly started. "So you think that batman knows Sarah's been kidnapped?

"...I don't know," Ally answered softly.

"If he did, would he save here?Would he come for her, like Sarah said he always would? Sara said--"

"Nathan" Ally interrupted.

Ally was resisting the urge to shout. But this wasn't the time. Secretly, she wished she could be liked Nathan. Always hoping that there was something good out of something horrible. Always looking in places where there were things that were worth gold: Golden information or words of wisdom that would lift their spirits by gently angelic wings. She never had faith in things like this. And Batman only came out on cool windy nights. How can he know that Sarah had been taken away when they had only found out this morning? Giving up, Ally was about to tell her brother to go upstairs and change when sh heard something. A voice in the room next to them. Edgar's voice. Growing curious, she gave a light push on Nathan's shoulder.

"Go on upstairs, "she said softly, not taking her eyes off the door. "I'll be there in a minute"

Nathan did not question his sister as he quietly mope up the cold stairs. Hears were beating faster, heads grew warmer. Ally took a deep breath as she came closer to the closed door. She was sire that Edgar was on the other side. Squatting in front of it, Ally pressed her ear against the wood However she never thought that the words that were tickling her ear were part of a devious plan. Part of a devious truth.

"Yes," Edgar sounded happy. "They were eating out of the palm of my hand. The look on Wayne's face was gold. Solid gold!...Excellent. So they'll be getting the ransom message at the police department in a few minutes?...Perfect...And she's still unconscious?...Listen to me Ethan Peak. It's like this: If Bruce Wayne doesn't want to see his goddaughter found dead on the 6 o'clock news, he'll be sure to bring that 2 million dollars to me by midnight. Every last penny of it,

Before Edgar even finished, Ally 's back was up against the wall, a hand over her frozen open mouth. Her green eyes were filled with terror. The man Edgar was talking to was Ethan, their new security guard. But how could they know each other? Ethan was barely new to working for their family, and he was so dumb he coulsn't even unlock that guardhouse with the one key he was given. And Edgar was smart enough to...Of course! It all made sense: Since Ethan wasn't that smart, no one would ever suspect him even if he didn't say that he had a family emergency or gotten into a car accident. And Edgar was arrested last night so no one would suspect him either...

"_Oh my gosh!_" Ally though to herself. "_While Ethan was in jail, the police must've let him use that one cell phone call they always give out., Edgar must've called Ethan and...they kidnapped Sarah! They're the ones who were behind this!_"

Ally looked at the door with a shocked looked. Most of it made sense. The evidence partially fitted in, but she'd worry about that later., Footsteps came closer to the door.Gasping, she raced upstairs to her room. Hurrying as fast as she could, she put on some clean clothes. She had to beat Edgar before he left., Almost tripping, Ally started racing down the hallway slid down the banister, and leaped off before Edgar could fully open the door. Jumping in front of him, Ally slammed the door closed with a dark glare.

"Going somewhere?" She snipped at him.

"Please get out of my way," Edgar replied with a cruel gin.

"Not until you tell me where Sarah is,"

Edgar looked almost frozen on the spot. Ally thought she had him cornered, but he still kept that creepy grin ON his face. With his good, cold hand, he pushed Ally aside gently , opened the door, and walked out of the Farris household. Ally scowled. Now ways he was walking out with the answers to her questions. With a confident look, she stood tall as she practically sprinted after him. She was now positive that he was the one behind this.

"What did you do with Sarah" she shouted.

Stopping in the middle of the bright green front lawn, Edgar turned around to face the brunette with a ticked look on his face.

"Why do you assume that I am the kidnapper?' he growled coming toward her.

"For a lot of reasons," Ally too her ground. "You've always hated her; you've been on her back ever since she inherited that money! I bet your hand isn't even broken!"

"Why would I fake and injury?" Edgar was no yelling.

Ally spreaded her arms out midway, rolling her eyes.

"Oh gee" she exclaimed sarcastically. "I don't know. Maybe because your just stupid like that, you big oaf!"

Before she knew it, Ally was lying on the ground, holding her head as it started throbbing. Edgar gad grabbed the back of her head, by the hand that was supposed to be broken, pushed her toward the bar of the tree and let her fall. She was right. Edgar was faking the injury. As she felt drops of sticky blood on her fingers, she was grabbed bu the arm by Edgar's "good" hand. and pulled toward his cold, dark, and angry face. Instantly, she was locked in a trance, afraid to scream and cry for help.

"Now you listen to me you little brat," he almost shook her, with a threaten ting boom in his voice. "I am this close to getting that money, and you'll keep your mouth shut if you want your dear friend Miss Chante to live, and if you want to live to see the 7th grade!"

Ally couldn' move. She thought her heart had stopped. She couldn't even hear herself breathe. All her fears had been realized. The ice in his voice and chill stare in his eyes had proved Edgar to be the villain in this confusing masquerade. She could hear the rushing of her feet behind her. Her family and Sarah's godfather. This would've been her chance to spill everything, if Edgar didn't start cowering up what had previously happened.

"Oh goodness, Miss Farris," Edgar's voice was ripping sweetly as he helped Ally up with his "good" arm. "Let me help you up on your feet,"

"What is going on here?" Mr. Farris demanded

"You stay away from me!" Ally let out a shuddered yell towards Edgar.

Bruce and Rachel looked at each other quizzically as Ally was gently picked up in her father's arms. The poor girl started crying on the man's shoulder, her whole body shaking with uncontrollable fear.

"Sweetheart," Mr. Farris lovingly rubbed his daughters back. "What's the matter?"

"Dear Ally was just coming to apologize for her behavior," Edgar answered the father's quest in. "She just couldn't find the words, started clawing at her head and broke down crying,"

"No!" Ally choke out as she lifted her vigorously shaking head. "No! That's not true! That's not true! He hit me! He hit me with his right hand! Look!"

As Ally was telling her side of the story, Bruce eyed Edgar's seemingly broken hand. Come to think of it, the skin that was visible through the blue wrapped up cast didn't look swollen. It looked just fine. But his thoughts were delayed as Mrs. Farris shook her head.

"Honey," she laid a hand on her daughter's wet cheek. "You've been through so much this morning. I think you should--"

"But it's true!" Ally protested through tears

"If I may, Carol," Edgar addressed Mrs. Farris. "She probably was upset over the fact that poor Sarah was taken away, and was under the impression that the kidnapper was somewhere around here. Now, I don't suppose, if there's a school counselor at Gotham City Private to help her with her emotional problems--"

"Liar!" Ally screamed.

"Jonathon," Mrs. Farris said calmly. "Take her inside. She's upset,"

With Ally's face buried in his shoulder, Mr. Farris carried his daughter inside. Bruce was now deep in thought as his arm wrapped around Rachel's shaking figure. There was something in the child's voice that reeked with fear, confusion, and the truth. Sometimes, all everyone needed was a young voice and discover the darkest clues with a light heart. Mrs. Farris didn't say anything as she escorted Bruce and Rachel back to the house, leaving Edgar to go to his car and leave. In Rachel's teary, confused eyes, Bruce could tell she was thinking the same question he was: Was young Ally Farris telling the truth? All was quiet when the front door closed behind them in the house. The faint sobs of Ally echoed from her room, at least a house story above them. Nathan was now sitting on the steps of the grand staircase, his head quietly buried between his arms and knees. As Commissioner Loeb came out of the parlor, Mrs. Farris excused herself, and took her son back upstairs, quietly guiding him with her hands on his shoulder.

"Mr. Wayne," Loeb's face looked both blank and worried. "We have a problem. I just got off the phone with the police department. But the good news is, we've got the blood test results back that we found on the Farris's dog: It's not your goddaughter's,"

Although relieved, Rachel's heart was still at a very low level.

"What's the problem?" she asked meekly.

Loeb sighed. Whatever the problem was, it wasn't going to be as horrible as a punch to the face. It was going to be worse.

"...We just got a ransom message from the kidnapper," Loeb said with a heavy voice. "He wants the inheritance money Sarah received when her parents were killed. And if he doesn't get all of it in less than 12 hours, meaning back to the original amount the inheritance was before taking money out for those two train tickets, he'll kill her,"

Bruce's grip around Rachel tightened as a gasp sounded from the District Attorney's lips.

"Commissioner," she started. "You need to get Gotham's finest on patrol now. Sarah could be out there. You just need to get them to form a search party immediately!"

"We can't," Gordon was coming out of the parlor, stepping into the conversation. "This guy has thought of everything: No funny stuff, no police, and no Batman. The only way he'll let Sarah Chante go free is if the money is hand delivered by Bruce Wayne himself,"

A deadly silence filled the area. Deep in thoughts floated in everyone's head. They were all stuck in a land mine infested field. One wrong move, and the whole operation would end up with a life being taken away...Bruce nodded...

"All right," he took out his cell phone from the inside of his suit pocket. "So be it then,"

"Mr. Wayne," Loeb was shocked. "I'm sure you would rather see another alternative than to lose--"

"I don't want another alternative, Commissioner Loeb," Bruce looked up as he started dialing. "I want my goddaughter home,"

The police men left Bruce and Rachel, assuming the billionaire was calling the Gotham National Bank. But to Rachel's confusion, he had called Wayne Enterprises.

"Fox," Bruce said into the cell phone. "Bruce Wayne. I need your help. Sarah's in trouble. Do you think y can investigate a few things for me?...Good. Now listen to me carefully..."

* * *

Josh Mason sat in a private jet plane that would take him and his mother, Elaina Mason, to a new home in Metropolis. It was better than the three hour drive to it from the small town he had ran to. When he first arrived there, he went to his destination that would keep him safe. The family he stayed with for the very few short hours was very kind to him. They had a teenage son who was practically the town hero, considering all the strange things that happened around there that took a negative effect on the citizens. It made him wish he ad an older brother. Everyone was nice to him, even when some of the teenage boy's friend wondered why Josh had come to Smallville all by himself from the grand city of Gotham. When the hours went by, Josh had grown worried for the safety of his cousin. She was supposed to call and let hims know she was on her way there. He was just about to ask for help, when Smalville's Sheriff came. The way she spoke to the farm family about Josh and his cousin's situation sounded tired but well rehearsed, almost as if she had been to the well-known farm more than once in the past few years. Josh was just relieved to hear that his cousin, Sarah Chante, was safe and that his father had been taken into custody for child abuse. Even when his mother said that they would move to Metropolis and away from the horrible the moment she came to Smallville to pick her son up. The whole first 30 minutes she had gotten there, she was holding her son in her arms, apologizing to him over and over that she had not been there for them, or had noticed the bruises sooner. The only twinge of fear that he still had was if Gotham police did or did not know that Edgar murdered his Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Luke. Poor Josh wasn't even strong enough to tell Sarah that Edgar had an accomplice that would spy on her whenever she was Ally Farris's. What would happen if...? No. There's nothing wrong. He knew Sarah was back with Bruce Wayne. It what she wanted, and she got it. Edgar was away from them both. No harm was going to come to them anymore. Sighing to himself, he settled into a small feather pillow, grabbing the remote to a TV that sat in a case bolted to the wall. It was a nice place. Some rich guy lent it to his mother and him for an easy trip to their new penthouse. Apparently, he owned some "popular" corporation. It was called...What was it?...LuthorCorp? He didn't know, nor did he care. The guy was bald and gave Josh a creepy vibe from the moment they met early that morning. There was nothing on television, so he just turned on the news for no apparent reason, as he slouched in his chair, his head slipping from that comfortable pillow to the cushioned seat. How boring it was to watch the news!...But also how interesting when a developing news story tapped his ears.

"We've just received a breaking story from the Gotham City area," the anchorman said to anyone who was watching. "Earlier last night, a kidnapping of billionaire Bruce's Wayne's goddaughter, 12 year old Sarah Chante, took place at an anonymous friend's house..."

Josh immediately sat up, a worried look on his face as the report continued on. The only relief he received was that there was evidence that Sarah was still alive. But he knew he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. He was the only one who knew the truth. The only one that could save his cousin from a horrible death. All he had to do was speak up for once.

"--Police have no suspects," the report continued. "All out thought's and prayers go to Gotham's--"

"Mom!" Josh shouted to his mother, who sat in the lounge area behind his seat. "Come quick!"

* * *

I had a dream before I woke up again...No, it was a nightmare. A horrible one that I still have to this day. My whole body had tossed and turned in my sleep through the cerebral torture. I stood in an alley in a bad part of the city, almost feeling the cold night air in my dream. I wasn't alone.

_FLASH!_

_A couple was walking around in front of me. They barely seemed to notice me, but I felt a comforting peace in me blossom. Tears in my eyes, I realized that I must be seeing my parents. It felt wonderful to see them...but I felt like I've had this dream before. I could sense the uncomfortable aura around me as my parents and I hear a noise in the dark alley where we stood in. A gun that had turned off it's safety told my dad that they were in trouble. He immediately grabbed my mother's elbow, pulling her behind him as they watched whatever was behind me in horror. I didn't want to look away from them. Their faces were the only things that were familiar to me._

_"Jennifer!" my father urged my mother. "Get outta here! It was a trap!"_

_BANG! A bullet whizzed past my head, missing me in the rush and met the forehead of my father right between his fading blue eyes. Waves of sadness filled me as I saw the life float away from my father with the fatal blow of the fact that I would never see him alive again. It tore me apart as I heard the shatter of my mother's screaming._

_"Luke!" she cried out with a red face. "No!"_

_Another shot passed me and a second bullet hit my mother in the leg. I watched her collapse to the ground in pain, crying with anger hinting in her face. She started to crawl away into a brick corner by the rusty dumpster, trying to escape the vengeful murderer. I watched him go past me in a dangerous walk, holding a gun in his hand as he still aimed it at my mother...The initials EM/AG winked at me in the cold darkness...Edgar Mason...Adam Gerons...Both in the for of one man, sharing the same amount of cruelty, with half a black heart each to make a whole deadly one. Both acted as one in the murder of my parents...And possible my murder as well...I remembered everything now..._

_"Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer," jeered Edgar as I watched him mock my ailing mother. "How long has it been since I last spoke to you?"_

_"Shut up!" my mother said through her teeth, trying to ease her pain._

_Heartlessly, Edgar laughed/_

_"That hurt Jenny," he mocked again as he put a hand on his chest. "That gets me right in the heart,"_

_"It would if you had one," Mom spat. (Go Mom). "...You killed my husband,"_

_"And I'll kill you as well," Edgar still held the gun. "As soon as I tell you what will come to pass after I do so,"_

_Horror immediately filled my mother's teary brown eyes._

_"Sarah," she whispered my name. "What did you--"_

_"I give you my word dear sister," Edgar shook his head in a sickly loving way. "Sarah's fine, warm and safe in bed with a book in her arms...not knowing that she'll wake up in a few hours an orphan and put in my care,"_

_"I swear on my life, if you ever hurt her--" my mom started threatening._

_"You'll do what? Rise from the dead and protect her, like the true, loving mother you are?...Your promise means nothing if you're swearing on your life,"_

_Anger rose up to my cheeks as I watched this. How dare he say these things to my mother! How dare he mocks my family! How dare he killed my parents! How dare he!_

_"I'm sorry it had to come to this," Edgar readied himself._

_My mom, still holding her leg, shook her head as tears freely glowed down her red, sweaty cheeks._

_"No you're not," she almost sobbed in anger. "...You won't win Edgar. There'll be someone to stop you in the end: Someone who will take care of my daughter,"_

_Edgar shook his head as he turned off the safety. My mother closed her eyes, waiting for the fatal bullet to join her in her spilling blood. No mom. Don't do this. Don't let hims do this to you and dad._

_"The chances of that happening," Edgar spat. "Are very slim. Goodbye Jennifer,"_

_BANG!_

* * *

My eyes flew open. I sat upright. Gasps of fear heaved in and out of my mouth as my memory returned. Of course. I remember being kidnapped in the middle of that horrible storm. I remember discovering the gun under those dark floorboards in my Uncle's office. And I remember coming to the conclusion that it was my Uncle who killed my parents weeks ago.Wildly, I looked around the place I woke up in, and I crawled in a corner, frightened. The walls that surrounded me were a dirty white color, mold almost splashing the opening cracks from what could've been the effect of a previous explosion.A foggy mirror with dashes of dusty spots all over it was on one wall, and I could barely see my face on it. As my blurry vision from the sudden harsh awakening cleared, I could decipher my reflection. My hair wasn't in a ponytail anymore, for it had fallen off during my unconscious stage, leaving my Blondie hair in wavy curls when it dried up from the rain. A new bruise was on my left arm had grown dark from hits I still have trouble remembering when I received them.I eyed it carefully, but when I moved to touch how painful it was, I saw another bruise on the side of my neck. However, it was bigger than the other new one, and a darker purple, with a shade of a pink-grey color at it's edges. Suspicious, I moved slowly to stand up, but then I almost collapsed. My legs were still wobbly and feeble from the drug I was given as a side effect, but that didn't stop me. Digging the tips of my fingers into the cracks of the walls, I pulled myself up a bit more, and slowly stepped toward the mirror, using the wall to support me. When my fingers made contact with the mirror's cool surface, I found myself looking at a girl I didn't know. The fright it gave me sent shudders crawling up my goosebumped skin. I touched the bruise and winced harshly at both the sharp pain and the stabbing memory of the needly being plunged into my neck. With unsteady footwork, I stepped back, away from the image of that girl in the mirror in fright and looked around again in my dark prison. It's horrifying atmosphere was suddenly familiar to me. Crawls of discomfort took over my body as I suddenly found out where I was.

"...Arkham," I could barely hear my voice. "I'm in Arkham Asylum,"

A chilling chuckle from behind me echoed with an evil presence. I gasped, jumping and immediately taking refuge in a nearby corner, cowering in a sense that my fear would protect me. I had not noticed the dark shadows disguising a particular corner in the holding cell until someone stepped out of there. Edgar's eyes gleamed with a cruel fire dancing about in them. I could've sworn that there was a weapon of some sort in his hand when I took first glance, but a small sense of relief took over me when I saw it was just the cast

"I was hoping you would wake up soon," Edgar commented as he walked slowly, with a sigh of enjoyment in his face. "It'd be a tragedy if you never did...but then again--"

"What did you do to me?" I dared to interrupt in a small voice.

A look of fake concern spreaded on Edgar's face

"Oh," he mocked as if he was hurt. "Sweetheart--"

The way he called me that made me shudder with fright. It was positively terrifying.

"I did nothing of the sort that could cause you harm," he continued. "I just merely had my associate bring you here when I wasn't able to...he said you put up a noble fight. You actually left him injured enough to life to his new employers that he was in a car accident,"

I shook my head, already disbelieving a word he was saying to me. This couldn't be happening. When would I wake up from all this? When would I actually wake up from this nightmare and safe in someone's arms? I want to hear someone, some guardian angel, a clear and loving conscience guide me to a safe harbor that would have me go on safe passage on a ship toward the feeling of security. This man had already caused me harm from the moment he pulled the trigger that took my parents' lives'.

"You killed my parents," I said, taking heavy breaths. "...You killed them in that alley. I saw the gun in the black box...I saw the initials on the holster after Josh gave me a clue..."

Edgar's eyes were burning through me, bu I barely looked at him. That old familiar sensation of daring acts was growing inside again...And this time, I embraced it with open, but weak arms.

"Tell me," I almost spat. "Was it Adam Gerons or Edgar Mason that killed them?...Or is there a third person in your delusional that I don't know about?"

In a lightning bolt flash, Edgar's casted hand was mere centimeters away from my face. The fingers that stuck out trembled as it resisted the urge to smack me. By instinct, I had turned my head away when I saw him raise his arm. By pure insanity, I dared to look at him when no fresh pain was inflicted on me. A grave silence surrounded us in a dark feeling when no words shattered it in time to save an uncomfortable moment of no action. Edgar put down his arm, and just stared daggers at me.

"You think you're so smart," he sneered. "But you're not,"

"I never said I was," I argued.

"...Well, then, here's a bit of knowledge for your simple mind:...Do you know how priceless the look on your godfather's face was when he learned of your kidnapping? How much I heard the District Attorney cry after seeing the blood on that mangy mutt? How scared your little friend Ally was when I threatened her not to tell anyone what she found out and hit her across the face?"

My eyes were wide. Ally knew. But how? How was she able to discover the secret I shouldn't have kept? I let the question alone as I started to glare. Hot anger was burning my feverish face and the way I looked would kill Edgar right where he was standing.

"Stay away from Ally," I threatened. "Don't talk about Rachel that way again; Don't get Bruce into this,"

That sickening grin crawled on Edgar's lips as he removed his trench coat from the heat, letting it drop to the floor with a strange clatter. The only interest it aroused in the room was me as I wondered what it was. Still having that curious expression, I looked back at my Uncle, who had rolled up the cuffs of his sleeves and removed the cast he had on his perfectly fine hand. It was no surprise to me at all that he was faking. He was the type of person to do that sort of thing.

"Would you do anything to keep your godfather alive?" Edgar interrogated cruelly.

My heart almost stopped. Those words were poison to me ears. Words I didn't want or never thought I would hear. When I wasn't saying anything, Edgar continued, speaking in a way that he relished the sound of his own voice. And in this case, I'm pretty sure he does.

"It is a quarter 'til 10 o'clock p.m.," Edgar looked at his watch. "You were unconscious for almost 24 hours moaning for someone to come find you in your sleep. In 2 hours and 15 minutes, which will be midnight, you will be begging for a rescue...Unless you do this one little thing for your dear old uncle,"

I rolled my eyes, a rebellious tone coming to my mouth for a short visit.

"Well," I said sarcastically. "You've got the old part right--"

Edgar's foot suddenly collided to my stomach with a harsh kick. Crying out in pain, I collapsed to the ground, holding myself, coughing with tears in my eyes. I wondered if it was possible that a lung was damaged since I wasn't sure if I was breathing at all. Edgar's anger went up a spark.

"Let me make this perfectly clear!" he snapped. "If you don't give me the inheritance money that rightfully belongs to me by midnight, I will take you out to that alley myself, and give you a far worse death than your parents!"

I wasn't paying attention to him, but I did hear the inheritance money bit...He kidnapped me for money! How dangerous could this possibly get? I was breathing harder. I was scared. If you were in my position, you would be too.

"You should consider yourself lucky," Edgar turned toward the old rusty door. "At least you won't be able to see your godfather shot in the head by the stupid mistake I know you wouldn't dare to make,"

"Leave him alone!" I managed to scream out.

_No. Don't kill Bruce. Please. Don't do anything. He's all I have left. I beg you Edgar. Please_. I said in my head.

"You think I'll listen to you," Edgar gave one more sneer. "But I won't...Ironic...I just thought of something..." Edgar chuckled before continuing. "Do you realize that if your mother wasn't adopted as a Mason that you wouldn't be here?"

What? Did I hear right? My mom's adopted? What the heck was coming out of this psychotic man's mouth? Painfully, I looked up at Edgar through wincing eyes. I could hardly breathe. I could feel a bit of blood on my side seep through my pink tank top, making a deep red spot before clinging to my hot skin from the impact if the kick. He showed no emotion at all. I said nothing, continuing to glare at him.

"You have until midnight to cooperate," Edgar gave one last threat. "Your godfather as well. Think carefully. Your life may depend on it,"

And with a harsh slam of the door, he was gone, leaving me alone again to wait for my doom. Sobs tempted to pass my lips, but I allowed no access. I was back to the beginning of my story. Back to square one. If I screamed for help, no one would hear me. If I cried, no one would comfort me. All alone, on the ground with a pain in my side, and no one knew where I was. Silently wishing that no harm would come to Bruce, I rested my head hoping that sleep would claim me long before I reached the moment when I would suffer the blow of a gun. My eyes desired the sweet heaviness of a magic sleep, longing to linger in the comforting darkness. But then a strange thing had caught my eye. Edgar had left his trench coat in my room and I remembered hearing something clatter when he had thrown it aside.

"Curiosity kills," I told myself.

My own mind did not heed my words. Gathering what little strength I had in me, I pushed myself with my legs, scooting as I painfully held my side over to the other side of the holding cell. Draping the long coat over my shaking legs, I dig into the big pockets, searching what item could possibly interest me. I found something...

A cell phone.

It had a signal.

I gasped with a sudden light bulb in my head.

I was able to call for help.

* * *

"Are you sure about this sir?" Alfred asked his master over the phone.

"As sure as anything," Bruce confirmed, walking the halls of the Applied Sciences Department at Wayne Enterprises. "We don't want to risk any harm to Sarah,"

"Sir--"

"Everything will be fine. Trust me. If Sarah's all right, we would know,"

"Mr. Wayne," Mr. Fox called from ahead

Bruce looked up from his conversation, nodded to himself, and hung up the phone as he hurried toward his accomplice. Earlier in the day, Lucius Fox had been asked to put his forensics skills to the test. Over the course of 10 hours, he had managed to bring Ethan Peak';s damaged car to the lower garages of Wayne Enterprises. From the moment he had heard of the strange absence of the new security guard, Bruce knew that there was something wrong with the alibi that was told to the police. The car came damaged in the front with broken glass from the windshield still clinging to the smooth dashboard. Dents had demolished the bumper tarnishing the shine it once had, and flat air bags had deflated hanging over the steering wheel. To you and me, it looked like a pretty bad crash had befallen the brown 1970 Mustang. But to Lucius Fox, it was clear that someone had taken a baseball bat and swung it repeatedly damaging the car to its present state. When Bruce had been told, his confirmations were being connect by the minute. There was certainly something about this Ethan Peak that played a part in he kidnapping of his goddaughter. Making his way toward the work table, where humble Fox studied some samples he had found in the backseat through a microscope, Bruce was ready to gear more details is about the unconfirmed crime that Ethan Peak might have made.

"Anything?" Bruce asked hopefully.

"Yes," Fox pushed the microscope to his boss.

Bruce took the liberty of investigating what his right hand man had discovered. Through the eye piece, he looked at the confiscated samples from Ethan Peak damaged car while Fox explained the findings.

"Now," he started. "Notice the two hair samples. They look different. One of the black, the other--"

"Blond," Bruce confirmed softly as he stood up. "...Sarah?"

"I had hoped not," Fox hated to be the bearer of bad news. "I found a sample of dried blood on the backseat and compared it to your goddaughters from the black cloth you used for her cut from last night...They match,"

Bruce's teeth clenched in silent fury. Thoughts of his goddaughter's kidnapping were almost confirmed. But the only things he knew right now were that Ethan Peak was the kidnapper and that Sarah could be very hurt. The fact on whether or not she was alive would soon be revealed to him. With a defiant nod, he readied himself for any possible act he would have to do.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"No sir," Fox shook his head in a sad way

Bruce nodded again and turned the other way to head out of Wayne Enterprises. In order to find Sarah, he had to once again become Batman so that it was guaranteed that when he found her, she would be brought home safely. Problem was, he would always find Sarah because he would know where she was. He didn't know this time. If he did not get to her quickly, some strange place would be her grave. The plan was to become Batman, and come to Sarah to secretly rescue her without her captor realizing anything/ He would take her to a safe place, more than likely the penthouse in the care of Alfred and Rachel to help if she was seriously injured. If f he took her to a hospital, the kidnapper might get her there without Bruce being there. After making sure she was safe, Batman would transform back to Bruce Wayne and meet the kidnapper with a briefcase full of money...that would b traced to the police at any time. There was no way Bruce was going to hand over Sarah's future if her life was being threatened. As he grabbed the briefcase off a nearby worktable, Bruce's cell phone rand. Without even looking at caller ID, he answered it.

"Bruce Wayne," he said in an almost angered tone.

The only sobs Bruce heard in the phone was a scared sob on the other end. Almost confused, Bruce was about to ask who this was, until a familiar shaky voice stopped him.

"Bruce?" a girl sobbed. "Bruce, it's me--"

"Sarah?" Bruce started getting worried.

"Bruce, I'm in trouble--"

When Bruce had realized it was his goddaughter on the phone, he hurried back to Fox who had immediately set the phone on speaker as he wired it o a system where the could track the call's origin.

"Sarah," Bruce started in a hurried voice. "Are you all right?"

"Bruce, I'm scared," Sarah didn't answer his question. "I don't know what--"

"Sarah, Sarah," Bruce stopped her. "You're going to have to calm down and tell me if you're all right and if you're hurt,"

"I want to come home! Please Bruce! I'm--"

"Sarah, I promise you that as soon as I get there, I'll bring you home. Everything's going to be fine. Are you hurt? Where are you?"

"...He--he hit me...he kicked me down--"

"Who did?"

Bruce was getting anxious now. He tried to Sarah calm down as best as he could while Fox worked out the coordinates to the call's origin. If Sarah was on the phone for 30 seconds longer, Bruce would be able to find out where she was.

"Bruce, listen to me! Whether or not you bring the money, he'll kill me and he'll you too. You have to--"

Suddenly, Sarah stopped and there was a silence over the phone. At first, Bruce thought the signal was lost, but then he heard gasps. Frightened gasps. When he heard his goddaughters voice again, she sounded far away.

"Whatever you do, do it fast!" she screamed. "He's gonna kill me! Find me Bruce! Help me--!"

A series of horrendous coughing followed with gasps of much needed air.Then...screams of fright pierced over the phone.

"Crane's toxin!" Sarah had shouted. "He has Crane's toxin! Find Batman! You have to--Aah!"

The phone call was over. Just like that, it was as if the voice of Bruce's goddaughter had vanished into thin air. All Bruce could to was just stay still, almost terrified of what had learned so far. But his mind wasn't prepared of what he learned next.

"Sir," Lucius Fox had stirred him out of his thoughts. "...The call came from Arkham Asylum...From the cell phone of Edgar Mason,"

"Go away," I softly commanded to nothing in particular. "Go away. Please. Leave me alone,"

I had myself in a corner, my eyes closed, and my hands cradling my head to rid the mind of demons that emerged before out of nowhere. Everything that had happened in the past two minutes suddenly became a blur to me. I remember calling Bruce for help, this white powder blowing into my face, and screaming. I was screaming. There were creatures of darkness lurking about in my head, taunting and gnashing their bloodstained fangs at me hoping to have the glory of frightening me. Whimpering softly, I felt Edgar grab me by the collar and felt his foul breath hit my face with his threatening voice.

"Who did you call?" he growled.

My eyes were still shut. Sweat poured off my forehead. I was afraid to answer him his question.

"Please," I tried to loosen his grip. "Let me go. Leave me alone--"

"You called Wayne, didn't you?"

"No! I didn't! I swear!"

"Don't lie to me, you little brat!'

"It's the truth!"

**_"...Truth or not, you and your godfather die tonight_**!"

* * *

(A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I finally updated. I am so sorry you guys! I didn't mean to make you wait this long. I was dealing with my own personal demons. Word of the wise guys: Stalking Psychotic Ex Boyfriends Can Really Change You. Kind of ironic too...I had a birthday party last year, and we were watching "Batman Begins" and picked characters from the movie. I was Rachel, he was the Scarecrow, and my old crush was Bruce...The old crush helped me out through this. Weird huh? Again sorry about the wait. And if you guys are confused about the Crane's toxin thing, and remember Sarah being inoculated with the antidote from a previous chapter, all will be revealed in good time. And don't worry. The rough draft for the next chapter is almost finished, so it won't be that long. I hope. Have a Happy New Year!)


	25. A Knight In Black Armor

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

* * *

_Tick-tock._

Time was running out. Even though my eyes were closed to block out my worst fears, and I didn't know what time it was, I could tell that midnight was nearing. At midnight, or sooner, my life would end.

_Tick-tock._

I could almost hear a clock in my head, counting down the seconds.

_Tick-tock._

I had stopped crying only minutes ago, but I couldn't control the shaky breaths that trembled my cold body.

_Tick-tock._

My whole entire body shook violently. Sniffing a bit, I tried to calm myself down as I wrapped my arms around myself after blindly scooting backwards to one of the pitch black corners of the holding cell...What have I done wrong? Was there anything that Edgar had a grudge against me for, other than the fact that I born? Frightened, I squeezed my eyes tightly to keep them shut, and pulled my knees toward my chest. I tried to think of what good will come out of all of this. Maybe it will help me keep calm, and slow down the poison. Let's see...Josh was with his mom in Metropolis, so he's okay...Ally and Nathan are physically all right...If my doom came sooner, then I would get to see my parents again...I wouldn't have to lie to protect others anymore...I wouldn't have to run away anymore...No one will hurt me again.

_Tick-tock._

Who am I kidding here? There is no good that will come out of this. After Edgar kills me, he'll still bring terror to everyone that I love. People are going to be hurt, and it would be because I never told anyone who killed my parents. Everyone I have met had already been marked with my touch, and targeted. I let out a small whimper before letting it evaporate into a useless sigh. I had to keep my eyes closed for as long as I could, but I knew that I would have to open them sooner or later. An unseen power in the toxin will make sure of that...Memories...Dark memories crawled into my mind...They started to fill my entire subconscious. My hands clasped my head in attempt to block those painful thoughts.

"No," I whispered. "Go away. Leave me alone. Please"

* * *

**_FLASH!_**

_"Yes, I understand..."I heard Gordon reply on the phone. "...She has nowhere to go..."_

**_FLASH!_**

_I turned back to the sinking coffins at that thought. Tears started to stream down my face. Why did they have to die? Why did they have to leave me?_

**_FLASH!_**

_I took a glance at my relatives. Some had smiles on their faces. How could they be so cruel? All they ever thought about was money. They were practically swimming in billions. Why would they need more?_

* * *

I held my head harder, wincing as the white flashes came faster and more painful. Breathing rapidly, I knew that the toxin was finally tightening its frightful grip on me.

* * *

**_FLASH!_**

_"Never underestimate Gotham City. People get mugged coming home from work everyday of the week. Sometimes--" Falcone chuckled. "Sometimes things just go bad,"_

**_FLASH!_**

_I glared at him. My parents weren't goons. He didn't even know them. Falcone took out a gun, a pair of handcuffs, and then he threw them to a guy with long hair._

_"Take her around back," he said as the two holding me shoved me to the other guy._

_"And do what?" the guy asked as he grabbed me._

_"...Use your imagination,"_

_I let out a silent gasp as I tried to free myself from the guy's grasp. They were going to kill me._

**_FLASH!_**

_"You may think she's the same as everyone else, Mr. Wayne, but she never was. She'll** never** be one of us. She's not saying anything back to me because she knows it's true, and there's nothing she can do about it,"_

_I covered my ears through all this nonsense. I broke free out of Bruce's grasp and ran through the crowd. I needed somewhere safe to be. Away from prying eyes._

**_FLASH!_**

_"You know something! Tell me!"_

_But the next thing I knew, Flass was going back down, screaming his head off, and I was carried up to the roof at lightning speed, struggling. Batman wouldn't let me go. His grip was growing tighter. I yelled at him over the rain._

_"Let me go!" I screamed at him._

_"Not until you calm down," Batman hissed in my ear..."No! I won't! Not until I find out who killed my mom and dad,"_

**_FLASH!_**

_"...Blood...Take--Take poison. Blood poison...poisonous," I heard a few mutters._

_I whipped my head toward the bed to find Bruce. He was shaking uncontrollably, and muttering those awful things in his sleep. He must be really sick. I walked slowly toward the bed, and squatted down on the floor beside it, so I could see his face. It was so pale, and he was sweating. I didn't understand.He was fine yesterday. He was having fun with me, showing me everything there was to know about Gotham City, and showing me all the good things that I had missed about it. How could he get sick? On his bedside table, I saw that case he showed me when I got in trouble at school. The stethoscope that belonged to his father. The stethoscope that he used on my heart and gave me a piece of his childhood. Gingerly, I opened it and took it out. Putting it to my ears, I placed it on his heart. His heart was racing, like something was scaring him. But...he was the bravest person I knew, besides Batman. Grown-ups can't get scared...Can they?...Apparently, I was wrong. Yet, when I touched him, he seemed to calm down, as if he knew I was there. I felt more humble now, and a little bit more brave...Here comes the part that still creeps me out. Before I could even blink, Bruce snapped his eyes open, and grabbed my arm in a tight grip. I didn't scream, but jumped just a little, and struggled to get out of his grip. I wasn't afraid of him, but worried that whatever he had might hurt me. He wouldn't let me go...Those eyes. It was happening again. Deja vu. Where have I seen those eyes before?_

_"Alfred!" I shouted._

* * *

I heard the loud, teeth grinding squeak of the rusty door to my cell. No. It couldn't be time already...

Could it?

* * *

**_FLASH!_**

_"Sarah," Mrs. Rose gave me a comforting smile. "Have a seat,"_

_"If you excuse me, Mrs. Rose," I said with the most polite manner possible. "But, can you tell me what's going on?"_

_There was silence, which set me off uneasily. I saw Mrs. Rose glance at Gordon, who glanced a Commissioner Loeb. I started to worry._

_"Is Bruce all right?" I asked, concerned of my godfather's well being._

_"Oh, he was fine, last time we saw," Commissioner Loeb replied. "It's actually _you_ that has to be all right,"_

_"Why? What's going on?...Jim?..."_

_I was growing nervous by the second. To comfort me, Jim bent down to my level, and put his hand on my shoulder._

_"Sarah," he said. "We just want you to know that we're going to do everything we can to keep you safe, and keep everyone else from getting hurt. Most of all, you,"_

_"...Jim," I said with breaths. "What happened?"_

_Jim looked at Commissioner Loeb, who turned to me._

_"Last night," he started. "The department received a call from Matthew MacCallister. We didn't actually get to talk to him, but dispatch was able to catch some of the conversation that took place,"_

_"What conversation?" I asked._

_"We've no idea. But it was most certainly about you,"_

_"...Me? Why would they talk about me? Who was he talking to anyway?...What's going on?"_

_"We found Matthew MacCallister's body in the parking garage near his firm. Autopsy said they found a bullet in his head,"_

_Jim squeezed my hand to comfort me for this next part._

_"It was the same caliber your parents were shot with," he said softly to me._

_I looked at Jim with fright in my eyes.That man...That murderer...The murderer who killed my parents; who killed Matthew MacCallister. He's out there. He's still out there. Waiting. Waiting for me. Waiting for the golden opportunity to come and find me... And kill me. He wants to kill me._

**_FLASH!_**

_"Interesting, isn't it?" I heard a calm, cool voice._

_Dropping the strange mask to the floor, I gasped in fright to find Dr. Jonathon Crane. He looked like he was the type of guy that would make girls swoon. Tall, dark, and somewhat handsome. Yet there was something about him that made me want to run out the door. He extended a hand toward the mask, and I handed it to him, never taking my eyes off it._

_"It is interesting," I agreed softly. "How did you come across it?"_

_Jonathon Crane merely gave me a warm, but chilling, smile as he stuffed the mask in his coat pocket. Gesturing for me to have a seat, I did so as he continued to talk._

_"I came across it by taking it away from one of our patients," he said as he sat at his desk._

_"But don't you usually lock the items up?" I asked with a raised eyebrow._

_"Yes. But I found this to be quite peculiar, I decided to keep it,"_

_Something in my gut told me he was lying as he looked at me through his non-framed rectangular glasses. He took out the mask once more and put it on the desk, showing me the face._

_"Tell me," he said. "What does it look like to you?"_

_I studied the potato sack face. It just sat there on the desk looking at me. I stared at it, pondering what it looked like. It seemed to look at me as if it knew me. The mask knew my dislikes, what I liked, where I lived, who my friends were...What I feared. Now, I really didn't know exactly what I was scared of, because I was scared of almost everything...But that mask...With those empty eyes staring at me and my soul...It knew what I was afraid of to the bottom of my heart, and the scary part was it knew what I was afraid of. Not me._

_"It looks like a scarecrow," I said, an image popping in my head._

_To this, Crane nodded slowly as he put the mask back in his coat pocket._

_"Very good," he said to me._

**_FLASH!_**

_"**DO YOU REALIZE HOW WORRIED SICK YOU'VE MADE EVERYONE? DON'T YOU EVEN REMEMBER THAT SOMEONE IS OUT THERE TRYING TO KILL YOU? WHAT YOU'VE DONE WAS RECKLESS AND STUPID! I THOUGHT YOU WERE SMARTER THAN THAT**!"_

_**FLASH!**_

_...She did it. I don't believe it, but she actually did it. She made me angry. I don't remember what happened. The next thing I saw, though, was the contents of my punch glass splashing all over her pink dress. She let out an ear-splitting scream, causing an attraction to the other guests. My heart was pounding, and I was in labored breath. Haley scowled at me._

_"I am so--" I started._

_"No!" Haley screeched. "Don't say that you're sorry! You're not!"_

_Well, she's right about one thing. I actually wasn't sorry that I ruined her dress._

_"Look at what you did! This is a one of a kind dress! It's worth more than your useless life,"_

_"**Oh, get over it!**" I snapped at her. "**It's punch. Not blood!**"_

_"Might as well be. You killed it, you freak!"_

_"...You know what Haley, I just might grow out of being a freak, but you will never stop being a witch!"_

* * *

Footsteps on the concrete floor echoed in my ears, and grew louder as they hurried toward me. I kept curled up next to the corner.

"No," I whispered. "Please,"

* * *

**_FLASH!_**

_Something was wrong. Something happened to Bruce. My heart was telling me all of this. I grabbed my backpack as I started to panic._

_"Turn the car around," I said as we started turning a corner._

_My Uncle jeered at me._

_"No," he said. "I told you. You are never to see Bruce Wayne again. You never listen to me, do you?"_

_I looked out my side window, peering at the road we drove on. It looked like the car was flying on it...Flying fast...Man, I can't believe I was doing this._

_"You're right," I said softly. "**I don't**,"_

_Taking my chance, I unlocked my car door, opened it wide, and jumped out of the moving limo with my backpack over my shoulder. The impact sent me rolling off the side of the road, and into a ditch. The second I was on my feet, I took off running into the woods, covering myself in darkness._

**_FLASH!_**

_I skated after the monorail to see if I could get ahead of it. As I saw Batman swing himself into a window, smashing small shards of glass that had found their way to the ground, a plan was forming. If I found the brake system that would stop the train, then maybe the poison would stop spreading. But, first, I had to dodge every car, every citizen, and every water-main lid that exploded from the pressure underneath. I heard the Bat-tank close behind me as I covered my head to avoid a falling water main lid. It seemed as though I was no match for the train, because, as it sped ahead of me, I was covered in the poisonous mist of fear. I caught myself on a nearby light pole, and started coughing my lungs out. I knew I was safe from the toxin, but it almost blinded me, and it got caught in my throat. Again, I felt sick to the stomach. I realized now that even if I could get to the emergency brake system, I wouldn't be able to stop the train._

_Now_ you finally notice _I thought sarcastically to myself. _

_As I hung onto the light pole, I saw something that had to deal with the Bat-tank. I don't know what it did, but, somehow, it caused part of the train tracks to break apart from the rest. My eyes were wider than they were before. Now the train was going to go flying off the track! Composing myself immediately, I sought refuge in a nearby alley. I knew that the train was going to explode, and I was so close to where it would crash. I kneeled behind a dumpster and covered my head. I was in a safe position just as I felt a great rumble under my feet, and the dumpster shook against me with a force so strong. I was afraid it would fall on me. When it finally subsided, I remained in a curled ball, my hands covering my head protectively. Sharp, but shallow, breaths escaped from me. I dared not make a sound...No one should have to go through all this. Especially the innocent people of Gotham._

**_FLASH!_**

_Josh and I were the only ones left on our team. I couldn't believe that I had made it this far into the game. On the other side, Haley and two other girls were left to try and get us out. Ally was out a long time ago. One girl threw a dodge-ball at Josh, and he caught it. That meant that the girl was out. In a rage, Haley and the other girl pelted dodge-balls at us, with no success. Josh was able to get the other girl out. But as he threw the ball he had, Haley caught him off-guard, and hit him hard in the stomach. It had to be painful. I watched him fall to the ground, clutching his side in pain. He was crying out a bit. I couldn't understand. The balls didn't even hit that hard to injure you. What was wrong? The next thing I knew, I was running toward him._

_"Time out!" I shouted at the coach as I bent down next to my cousin. "Josh, are you okay?"_

_Josh didn't answer me as kids from our team, and even Haley's team, circled around Josh and I. Two boys put Josh's arms around their shoulders and led him out of the gym. Before I turned away, I heard him mumble my name. I went to his side as he mumbled another thing:_

_Adam Gerons._

Someone touches me, and I flinch the moment the tips of their fingers make contact with my shoulder. My whole body tightens with fear as I tried to shrink into the corner more. My pulse beats faster. My blood pressure rises. My entire being is growing hot enough for beads of sweat to drop down my forehead. At this point of my story, I knew that the toxin was beginning to reach the peak of my growing state of fright. I could tell so by how shallow my breath had gotten, how unfocused my senses were, and how everything I heard seemed to ring or echo. Whoever was touching my shoulder had had enough of my resistance to cooperate. An arm somehow managed to slip around my waist and yank me away from my corner.

**_FLASH!_**

_I found my way to Edgar's office, and my eyes bulged. There was Edgar, with Josh being punched by his own fists. Without even thinking, I plunged myself into the chaos, trying to pry Edgar off of my cousin._

_"Stop it!" I screamed. "Leave him alone"_

_SLAP! WHAM! SNAP! I was hit, and on the ground. When I caught myself, the floorboard underneath my right hand creaked loudly. I didn't know why, but it caught my attention for just a moment before I was dragged to my feet by my hair._

_I held my head to refrain from screaming out loud. My eyes squeezed out tears of pain, but my words were dripping with anger._

_"You're drunk," I spat._

_"So what if I am?" Edgar hissed in my ear._

_After this, I was thrown across the room, rolling on top of the coffee table._

**_FLASH!_**

_I dropped the pen, and looked at the broken creaky floorboard. Prying it open, I saw a black box. Taking it out, I opened it...A black gun lay inside, neatly in its place...On its holster was engraved the initials AG-EM...If Adam Gerons killed my parents, then that means..._

**Edgar Mason, my uncle, killed my parents.**

**_FLASH!_**

_"Sarah!" shouted Josh. "I am not running one more block until you tell me what's going on!"_

_It was the next morning around 7. The sun was just rising, and Josh and I were running down the almost deserted sidewalks. Let me break it down to you about what happened so far. With only 3 hours of sleep, I had gotten to the computer in Edgar's office and onto my bank account at Gotham National Bank on-line. From there, I took out at least 2000 dollars, and put it aside so I could pick it up soon. Then, I got my backpack, and packed in everything I could fit in there: Toothbrush, toothpaste, change of clothes, the book Bruce gave me, and my roller blades. After I put on a pair of jeans, put cover up on my face to hide the bruises, and a black turtleneck sweater with 3/4 sleeves, I rushed to Josh's room, and made him get up. He was asking me repeatedly what was going on, but I wouldn't answer him. All I did was make him pack as much as he could in his backpack. As soon as he zipped up, I took him by the arm roughly, and we both rushed out of Mason Manor...hopefully for good. Yeah. We were running away. I know its dangerous, but its the only solution I could come up with._

**_FLASH!_**

_Suddenly, a strong hand gripped my bruised arm. Involuntarily, I let out a yelp of pain. My arm. It hurt so much, my eyes were squeezing out tears for the trauma of my beaten muscles. Ally gasped as she backed away, and as I looked into the cold face of my Uncle Edgar._

_"Nice performance Scummy," he hissed in anger. Then he grabbed the back of my neck, making me look into those cold eyes. "But not nice enough!"_

_"Somebody help!" Ally called out as she tried to pry Edgar's grip off of me. "Let her go! Help! Anyone!"_

_Edgar smacked Ally away from us, and she fell to the ground. I gasped. She wasn't getting up. He knocked her out. I struggled to get out of my uncle's grip, but it hurt so much, I thought that I was going to pass out from the pain._

* * *

I struggled so much, the guy holding me had to pin my arms to my sides by wrapping his arms tightly around me. Still, I tried to free myself with all the strength I could use.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

I had barely said those words when a hand was tightly clamped over my mouth to keep me quiet. My pleas for help were muffled by his smooth, leathery glove, but it never stopped me from shouting them.

"Hold still," A familiar voice echoed in my ear.

Before I could question myself on who it was, something pricked the skin of my arm, and I whimpered a bit. A cold sensation ran through my body before making its way to my head as the hand was removed from my mouth. It felt like a lethal brain freeze had taken over me and let me moan in discomfort. The grip around me lessened to a gentle wrap of strong arms. My jean jacket was being pulled off my shoulders, and I heard it tossed to the side before an arm went under my shaking legs, and another around my shoulders. I felt the wound where Edgar kicked me on my side twitch with pain, making me whimper again.

"Shh" I was told when I was sat upright against the wall. "You're going to be all right. Here. Drink this,"

The lid of a cold water bottle met with my chappy, pale lips. Grasping it blindly with both hands, I greedily took it, chugging down the cool liquid as fast as I could. I could feel my head growing clear and a bit of my strength coming back. In less than one minute, I drank every last bit of cold water that had once existed in the canteen. I took deep breaths of air, almost coughing, as I felt a gentle pry of my eyelid opening. My vision was blurry, and all I could see was a black, fuzzy image of who had obviously come to help me. After a few short moments, my other eye was inspected. I moved my head away, to rub my eyes with my thumb and index finger, trying to clear my vision.

"Can you walk?" I was asked in a gutteral voice.

"...A bit," I nodded with an exhausted reply.

I was suddenly pulled to my feet. Testing myself, I could only walk two steps before I would start to crumple. Luckily, I was quickly caught and brought closer to my rescuer. He gently pushed my head to his hard armor clad chest, as he wrapped an arm around my waist, supporting me so that I could stand.

"Just lean closer," I was commanded. "Walk very slowly, and don't make any noise until I say it's safe. I'll be with you every step of the way. Do you understand?"

Feeling a bit more strength, I nodded vigorously.

"Good girl. Now come on. We don't have much time,"

Half-carried and half-dragged, the cool air of what was left of Arkham's hallways embraced me with its sudden chill. Though I was glad to be out of that cell, mar arms formed shuddering goosebumps on my bare arms. As they crawled up my spine, a heavy sort of material was draped along my shoulders as they warmly protected me while my rescuer and I lurked our way through the asylum...Hold on a second. I've had something like that on me before...And there was only one person that came to my mind of who had always done that. Around this time, my eyes had gained back their strength, and I opened them as I looked up to find a clearing image of the Dark Knight, supporting me until I received full strength.

"You found me," I whispered

"Shh," I was hushed.

But I had something to say.

"Batman--," I started softly

"Sarah," Batman gently reminded me. "Take it easy. You have to be quiet until I get you to the Tumbler,"

"But there's--,"

Suddenly, we heard a door in a nearby hallway slam shut. Batman's arm instinctively clutched around me, and we stood frozen on the spot, but for a short moment.

"Mason's coming," I heard that low growl in his voice. "Hurry. Wrap your arms around my neck, don't look up, and hang on tight,"

Obeying as I buried my face in the hard shoulders of the Batman's armor, I was quickly lifted off my feet, and was concealed by the Winged Avengers long black cape, to keep my bright colored clothes extra hidden, and keep me warm as the Batman raced soundlessly through the halls. I uttered not a word, not allowing any sound of discomfort to go past my lips. I didn't even let my painful gashes, bruises, or cuts get me to cry out, but I had to wince hard enough to not do so. Everytime that would happen, my coiled arms would tighten around Batman's neck, and lessen when the pain went away. In an instant, the movement had stopped for a few moments. I could tell we were somewhere spacious by the way the air filters echoed off the thin walls. In the dark, I could hear the Batman's breathing with his heaving chest as he quickly tried to find a place to lay low for a while. I listened closely for more sounds...Only to locate the beating of Batman's own heart. Like an old forgotten lullaby, I was suddenly at peace with the pensive thought that I had heard that same heartbeat very recently after my parents died. Before I could try to locate the memory, I was quickly set on the ground again, my back resting against the wall by the peculiar Caped Crusader in a dark area. I remembered it to be the same warehouse I had seen Rachel held captive in by the Scarecrow while I was hidden on the floor above me. The only thing holding me back, at the time, was a tangled mess of barbwire wrapped around my leg in blood. Crouching alongside me in the dark, Batman kept his cape draped around my shoulders. His eyes were glowing in the dark brighter than ever before as they stared straight ahead to the rest of the building. When he held me in a protective way, I knew I had to stay as quiet as I possibly could. There wasn't much uncomfortable silence we edured, until we heard the loud slam of a door, and two people yelling at each other. I hardly gasped before I was quickly concealed by the cape again. The only things left uncovered by it were the two pairs of feet of Ethan Peak and Edgar Mason.

"_**How hard is it to keep track of a silly little girl?**_" Edgar sounded outraged.

"I swear Mason," Ethan testified. "One minute, I hear her crying for help, and then the next minute the door to the Solitary Confinement Room is wide open, and there's no girl,"

Keeping my breath as low as possible, I stayed still in Batman's arms while Edgar's voice was growing more loud with contention by the second.

"_You do realize_," he started through seethed teeth. "_That I need this girl to gain access to my future?_"

"Of course I do!" Ethan protested. "I just don't see how you would get the information out of her! That kid will answer to nothing! Especially to _**you!**_"

"...Oh," Edgar laughed cruelly. "She'll have no other alternative,_ but_ to answer to me,"

Though I was supposed to stay in the dark, there was nothing in the world that I wanted more than to run towards that psychotic nut, and beat him with my own fists. The only thing that stopped me was Batman's armored arms wrapped around me. Besides, no matter how hard I could try to stop Edgar, I couldn't win. I was still weak from the toxin, and my entire body was still in pain from all the kicks, punches, and slaps across the face. If I went out there to stop him, I would be helping Edgar prove himself right:

In other words, he'll hit me so hard, I will never wake up again.

Batman's heartbeat rang next to my ears in the dark, calming me as I listened more to Edgar and Ethan's sinister conversation, and watched their footwork through the small space of light left by the cape.

"What is that?" I heard Ethan ask. "Some kind of locket?"

What? Locket? _My_ locket? Without thinking, I moved to see if it was, but I was still held back by Batman. He pulled me closer to him, gingerly pushing my head to his chest, and holding it there as he still kept us hidden. My breathing became more quick with anxiety while hearing Edgar chuckle.

"Yes," he remarked slyly. "A very _**special**_ locket. It belongs to the girl, and she practically thinks that it's her life source. She's broken-hearted without it...Oh look: She even has a picture of her parents in here. Ah, Jennifer. Such beauty wasted on such a pathetic girl,"

Edgar's cackle sent shivers up my spine, and I almost let out a scream of sadness. Instead, I just moved in closer toward Batman, trying to stop myself from bursting out there by tightly hanging onto him. His arm gently wrapped around my back in comfort. Everytime Edgar's laugh reached a new tone of evil, both of our grips would tighten around each other. Both of us knew that we had to stop him.

"She can't have gotten very far," Edgar started as soon as his devilish guffaws were done. "You go out and see if Wayne's here with the money. He should be here by now. Remember: No money, no goddaughter. **_Then shoot him_**,"

Another tight grip around Batman, and a tiny mouse-like whimper that was, luckily, too small to be heard. Not Bruce. Please. Anybody but him. _**They can't do this to me!**_ Why do they want to kill my godfather?

"I'll go out to the back alley," I could hear the two men walk away as Edgar spoke again. "See if that little brat's crawled her way out there,"

His voice was fading, and then...SLAM! Both men were out of Arkham's basement. Instantly, the cape was pulled off of me, and I was set against the back wall once again.

"Sarah," Batman pried my arms off his neck. "Calm down. Listen to me..."

I couldn't remember if I had been crying, hyperventilating, or if I was hysterical at all. The only thing I can remember is trembling all over, and taking shaky breaths. Batman tried to soothe me as best as he could, placing his gloved hand on my sweaty cheek.

"Sarah--" he tried again.

"He's gonna kill Bruce," I softly said, almost terrified. "He's gonna kill my godfather,"

"No he won't--"

"And he's gonna kill me,"

"Sarah, I promise you, I won't let that--"

"It's gonna be all my fault,"

As soon as I had said that, Batman's fingers gently curled around my chin, and moved my head so that I could look at him. A stern expression stared back at me. There wasn't much to say about it, other than it was another clue that showed he was just as human as me.

"I _**never**_ want to hear you say that again," he softly scolded. "Understand?"

I did nothing, or said anything to answer him. After a few moments silence, Batman spoke one more time.

"Listen carefully," he explained. "I'm going to go take a look around and see how I'm going to get you out of here without taking a long route, or causing any noise. You have to stay right here--"

"_What?_" I softly exclaimed, surprised.

"--And stay put until I come, and get you. If you do what I tell you, you'll go home quicker without anymore injuries--"

"But--"

"I'm not taking you to a hospital for medical attention. I've been strictly ordered by your godfather himself to bring you home. You'll be much safer there,"

"_**What? You saw**_--"

"Promise me that you'll stay here, and not make a sound,"

"But what about Bruce?"

"...They won't kill you or your godfather. I promise you that,"

...I nodded. It was agreed then. I was to stay in the basement of Arkham Asylum until Batman returned to come, and get me when it was safe. We were both quiet for a bit. I noticed the looked in his eyes...

"Are you scared?" I dared to asked.

"...No. You?"

"...I'm terrified,"

For a moment, I could've sworn I saw a comforting smile, but that thought went away when Batman gently cradled my head in his hands, and gave me a fatherly kiss on the forehead. Puzzled, I looked at him strangely when he pulled away. Why did he do that? What was its purpose? I stared at him with the same expression as he swept his hand on my head to move the stray strands of messy blond hair out of my face.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," is what he said to me.

I was puzzled again. Tell me what? What was it?...His voice had changed from its guttural tone to normal, like once before...What was he saying?

"Tell me what?" I asked softly.

"You look as beautiful as your mother," Batman softly said.

My eyes widened at this.

"**_You knew my mother?_**" I inquired.

"Stay here," Batman leaped to his feet.

"Wait--"

"I'll come back. I promise,"

There was nothing I could say to make him stay. Batman was once again out of my sight, and left me all alone in the warehouse, wondering what sort of mystery was behind him, and my mother. I sat there, shivering from the cold, and hurting from my wounds. The atmosphere seemed dead silent to me as I looked around. The room was in total ruin from the explosion that happened during the Narrows recent chaotic destruction. Frankly, it didn't change much of the basement's gloomy appearance, but that was my opinion. In front of me sat a table with a laptop on top of it, its screen shining brightly with the Gotham National Bank Home Web-page in the somewhat dimly lit room. I suppose Edgar needed that for part of his plan...A very essential necessity to him, I would imagine. I know I was supposed to stay where I was, but I had to do something besides sit there. Placing my hands flat on the ground, I felt something underneath my skin that felt cool, and thin, but sharp around the edges. Furrowing my eyebrows, I removed my hand as I looked down, letting out a small gasp when I saw the batarang I had lost during my last visit. Though it proved useless to me when I previously needed it, I was not caught by painful barbwire's this time, so I stuck the batarang in my back-pocket for future incidents that were more than likely going to occur. Feebly, I stood up on my wobbly legs, holding onto the boxes and metal support beams to help me as I weakly made my way to the table. I almost collapsed when I got to the laptop, but I pushed myself up to keep steady. Once I logged into my bank account on the laptop, it was currently showing 1,999,000 dollars. The 1000 dollars that was missing was split into the 500 dollars Josh and I each had in our attempted escapes' from the city. Immediately, flashes of lightning struck in my head as I found out what I had to do with the money. Quickly typing in a few things, I requested my inheritance to be sent to a different, new, and fake account, and logged out. I won't tell you where I hid the money now, but I assure you: It was sent somewhere safe. Another idea coming to me, I went back to the log-in page, typing in Edgar's name and password, and waited until I was allowed access. His password was easy to guess: Adam Gerons. It was so obvious he would use that, that it was probably impossible to guess, for most anyway. I did what I had to do with Edgar's account. I knew that once I was done, that there was no going back, and that there would be nothing anyone could do to change what I had done. It may not have been a smart choice, but it wasn't a bad choice either...At least I hope not. When I had finished, I composed myself, and felt a bit stronger. I turned to go back to my dark corner before Batman would return, but something caught my eye. It was on the ground, and a glimmer of gold twinkled at me from where it laid. Gasping, I immediately snatched my heart shaped locket up from the ground, and fastened it around my neck. I soon felt a sort of peace as I stood there, thinking that now that I had my locket back, I could take on anything that came my way..._**Except Edgar standing right behind me with a gun pointed to the back of my head.**_

"I've got you now, Sarah Chante," he slithered with a trace of triumph in his nasty voice. "Right where I want you,"

* * *

**_WHAM!_**

With rough force, Ethan was slammed against a car parked outside the destructed Arkham Asylum. He should have started to run once he had recovered from the sudden blow, but the pain and fear that came to him had frozen him completely. In front of him was the one they called Batman, the one who had haunted the dreams of men for a period of time now. Before he had even gasped of fright, Ethan was grabbed by the collar, and lifted a few inches in the air as Batman glared at him. I watched all this on the rooftop of Arkham Asylum with a gun's barrel pressed against my right temple, and Edgar's arm draped tightly across my neck, threatening that any move I made would be my last. He had forced me up there earlier, jabbing me in the back with the gun as we went up the stairs to the top, nagging at me to keep on moving. I could breathe very little. Desperately wishing for more air, I tried to cry out. I wanted to be save. But the only sounds I could make were small gasps. I could barely even hear what Ethan was babbling to the Batman, out of fear of getting hurt.

"I swear, man!" Ethan almost stuttered. "All I did was bring the kid here! Honest!"

"Did you hurt her?" Batman growled at him, bringing Ethan closer to his face.

"It was all Mason! He told me that it was mostly personal business with her! I didn't ask any questions! Just let me go, man! I'll talk if you want me to! Just don't hurt--"

**_BANG!_**

I almost collapsed in a faint, thinking the gun went off and shot me in the head. It seemed to take me hours to find that I was still alive, but Ethan was not so fortunate. I stood frozen and wide-eyed as blood poured freely out of the bullet wound in Ethan's head, dripping down from his face to the ground. Ethan was murdered while being interrogated by the Winged Avenger. Batman seemed to just stand there in shock as he still clutched the shirt collar of the dead man before Edgar caught his attention by laughing cruelly into the night air. Snapping his head toward the laugh, Batman dropped the body to the ground, and stood at a stance, straight and tall as he looked up to where Edgar and I stood on the roof.

"It's hard to find good help that won't squeal on you, isn't it, Batman?" Edgar taunted.

Batman's eyes seemed to possess fear in them as he saw me stand still, being held by the neck with Edgar's arm against his chest, and a gun resting against my head. I was afraid to speak, but I tried to be brave, and mentally told my dark ally that I was all right.

"You know," Edgar continued to rant. "I almost didn't believe it, but it looked like I was right: You seem to be everywhere this little brat is getting into trouble...Most of the time, at least,"

"Let her go Mason," Batman growled, and clenched his fists.

"Not until I get my money,"

"It's not yours!" I opened my mouth.

Edgar's hand automatically shut me up, clamping it tightly over my lips.

"You Scum of the Narrows," he growled. "Shut up!"

I did as I was told, still keeping my gaze at the Batman. It was all I could do, and all I had, to keep myself calm about the situation. Batman was resisting the urge to just fly up there, grab me, and fly me away towards home where I would be safe. But he knew if either of use made any sudden moves, one, or both, of use might wind up dead. The tension was building. The anxiety was rising. Life-threatening suspense was eating away at our last nerves, tempting the rage within us to break out, roaring with anger and fear. With a discreet, sympathetic look on his face, Batman reassured me that everything was going to be okay, before turning toward Edgar, glaring at him through his dark mask.

"You kidnapped the goddaughter of Bruce Wayne for money," he stated. "Her inheritence money; The money that was given to her by birthright,"

"No," Edgar growled, holding me tighter. "Not _her_ inheritance money. _My_ money. It belongs to _me_,"

"But not the girl," Batman held up an arm, reaching up to me, a pleading look almost in his eyes. "Give her to me, Mason. I'm taking her home,"

A quiet, rising fear was slowly erupting, increasing my heartbeat. In my mind, I could already see Edgar grinning to himself as he thought of something evil. **_Very evil._**

"Why do you care about this girl so much?" he taunted the Batman. "Do you know how much trouble she's caused in the past few weeks?"

"She's only a child," Batman stated. "Give her to me,"

"Do you consider her your friend, Batman? Do you tell her everything? Does_ she_ tell you everything?..._**Did she tell you that, two nights ago, she discovered that I was the one who shot Luke and Jennifer to their deaths?**_"

My eyes were wide. My heart was pumping so hard, it was all I could hear. With mind-clouding fear, I had forgotten, until now, that I never told anyone who killed my parents. But it was only for fear of this: The fear of what was happening to me right now. I was afraid that if Edgar found out that I squealed, he would kill me. But I never thought of what would've happened if I didn't tell anyone. This was the penalty of not getting much needed help: A gun to the head, anxiously waiting for the click of the trigger, and the bullets impact against my sweating head. I turned my head away, not wanting to look at the Batman's expression, the gun still held against me. Edgar laughed.

"The poor girl must've been scared to _death_," he mocked as he stroked my cheek with a bony, cold finger that made me shudder. "He looked so pale, she looked like she had seen a ghost...Oh, poor thing. Now she looks deathly white,"

I was getting sicker with every moment that passed. Batman seemed to notice as well.

"You're making her sick," he growled. "Let her go"

"Oh, I'll let her go all right. Batman," Edgar sneered. "Just as soon as the dear girl decides to cooperate, give me the password to her account, and transfer all of the inheritance money into mine,"

As I stood in Edgar's grip, shaking, I noticed him pull something out from under his other arm. The laptop. He must've grabbed it on the way out. Eyeing him with anxiety, I waited for him to explain the next part of his devious plan as he dragged me closer to the edge of Arkham Asylum's rooftop. My first thought was that Edgar was going to throw me off the roof as he set the laptop on the ledge, the screen showing the log-in page to my bank account. I took a look at an anxious Batman, and knew immediately that if I would be thrown off, then he would be there to catch me. With discreet concern in his face, his eyes asked me if I was okay so far. Sweat beading down my pale, cheek flushed face, I just closed my eyes, shuddering from the chill of the winds sudden blow on my shoulders. I left my jean jacket back inside, so I was left in my pink tank top, blue jeans,ratty old puma shoes, and a blood stain on my tank top, making a darker shade of pain from Edgar's kick. Finally removing his hand from my mouth, Edgar slithered dangerously into my ear.

"Type in your password," he whispered. "And I give you my word that you can go home free"

I never trusted his word. His word was a lie. As soon as I would give him what he wanted, he'd shoot me from behind. Besides, even if I did want to...I still couldn't. Edgar wanted **_all _**of my inheritance money, and I had already taken 1000 dollars out of it. Plus, the rest of the money was transferred somewhere safe, so nothing was in my account. Edgar had another surprise coming to him. Shifting my eyes from Batman to Edgar, I took a huge breath. This was not going to be a very pretty memory for me, if I should live through this.

"Do you promise not to hurt my godfather if I give you what you want?" I asked softly.

Edgar moved a few steps forward to me, a face of anger rising in his cheek bones, and the barrel of the gun moving closer to me, aiming at my head better.

"Type in your password," he commanded again. "Give me my money, and we'll see,"

"...But that's not what I want--" I had started again.

I was cut short by a strong hand grasping tightly around my neck. My breathing was short and little. Edgar glared darkly at me, the gun barrel digging into the center of my forehead. Batman watched below, not knowing what to do. If he moved to rescue me, Edgar would shoot me, and saving me would be out of the question. If he used any of his weapons to hit the gun out of the way, there was always that chance of hurting me. There was nothing he could do but watch me suffer.

"Tell me!" Edgar shouted again. "What is your password?"

"'bat'!" I managed to gasp. "'bat'! The password is 'bat'!"

"Don't play games with me, you little witch!"

"No! The password is 'bat'! I swear! Please, let go! Please! Please! Let go!"

Edgar threw me aside to the roof floor, and I sat there, holding my throat, and gasping for air as he typed in my password himself. I took a glance at Batman. Those light green eyes were concerned at the issue if I was all right or not. I have one quick nod, mentally saying that I was fine as I coughed, bracing myself for what I expected to happen next. In a rage, Edgar pushed the laptop off the ledge, its faint crash heard on the ground below.

"_What_..._have_..._you_...**_DONE?!_**"

Edgar turned around to face me on the last emphasized word. His eyes were burning with hellish fires, and an anger that I had never seen, until now. With a small, defiant glare, I slowly stood up from the ground, wincing as I felt my side wound, and standing up tall. Everything worked. My plan worked.

"_**What have you done?!**_" Edgar asked again, movng closer until he was towering above me.

I stood still, unmoving, and angry a bit myself.

"Why are you mad, Uncle Edgar?" I asked mockingly. "What did I do to make you so angry? Could it be that I've already spent the two million dollars--"

OK, that was a lie, but it seemed like the truth to Edgar, and that was good enough for me.

"You _**spent**_--"Edgar seethed through his teeth.

"_**Or**_," I interrupted. "...Could it be that I _**hacked**_ into your bank account, and put you down for **_bankruptcy_**?"

"**WHAT?**" Edgar grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. "HOW DID YOU GET INTO MY ACCOUNT"

"...Sucks to be a **_Poor Rich Man_**, doesn't it?..._**A Spawn of Pure Evil?**_..._**The Scum of Gotham?**_...Well? Aren't you going to say something back? Or is my coward of an Uncle hiding in the identity of the _dumb_, _witless_, and _brainless_ man known as...Oh, what was his name again?...Adam Gerons?"

"Shut up!"

**_SMACK!_**

"Sarah!" Batman shouted.

I fell to the ground with a pained expression on my face. I had been hit across the face with Edgar's gun, making a cut above my left eye: Another addition to the wounds that I had already. I had never felt so much pain in my entire life. When I heard the Batman shout out my name, not only did I notice that he used his "normal" voice, like with Rachel before, I also heard Edgar's gun fall, and skid across the cement ground next to me. Keeping my eyes closed for a second, Edgar immediately reached for the gun, and, apparently, pointed it at me as he shouted at Batman.

"_**MAKE ONE MORE STEP BATMAN, AND I'LL KILL HER!**_" Edgar screamed. "_**I SWEAR IT! WITH OR WITHOUT HER COOPERATION, RICH OR POOR, PRINCESS OR SCUM, FAMOUS OR OUTCAST, PARENTS ALIVE OR PARENTS DEAD, I SWORE ON THE DAY THIS GIRL WAS BORN THAT SHE WOULD REGRET THE DAY SHE GOT IN MY WAY!**_"

As he ranted, I opened my eyes, and silently gasped. Edgar may have had the gun with him, but he must've grabbed it from a farther distance than I thought it had slid, after he hit me with it. Apparently, he now held an _empty_ gun in his hands, because the bullets were _**right there lying in front of my face!**_ The bullet chamber case on the gun must've snapped open, and let the calibers fall out. Driven by instinct, I snatched the bullets, and stuffed them in my pocket, quick as lightning. Edgar thought I hadn't moved when he grabbed my by the collar, dragging me up to my feet. Grunting with pain, I only glared at him, my heart pounding with anger, and a hint of satisfied revenge. I took a glance at Batman, who only stood frozen on the spot, in a position where it looked like he was about to come get me.

"Twice you have refused me," Edgar nearly shouted. "You have one last chance. Choose wisely, Scummy,"

What could I do? Nothing. Was there anything to stop Edgar? Maybe. Is there anyway of getting away from him? Yes. I peaked another look at Batman as Edgar pushed me back from his grip. Those eyes...Those light green eyes I see in Batman were frightened. Frightened for me. Frightened of how hurt I would be, and how much pain I would endure when all this was over. Slowly turning my head back to Edgar, I saw him raise the empty gun at me. I stood still, but calm...Behind him was a closer building that I could jump to...Add that to the list of things to remember...

"I'll only ask once, and _only_ once, so I trust you'll listen carefully," Edgar growled. "..._**TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MONEY!**_"

I shook my head, glaring at him.

"No," I said.

"_**AND WHY NOT?**_"

"...Because you'll _never_ win Edgar..._You never have_..."

"Why you little Scum of the--"

Edgar stopped. Lights had suddenly flashed red and blue on the side of our faces. Wailing sounds, no, _sirens_, filled our ears. Both of us whipping our heads behind us, Edgar and I saw about a dozen of Gotham City Police Department cars. Every cop in the city must have been there! I turned to look over my shoulder, and saw Batman, taking his chance to rush up there when he saw that Edgar was temporarily distracted. Just in case, I reached into my back-pocket, and pulled out the batarang that I found in Arkham's basement as I turned back to the scene.

"_Edgar Mason!_" I recognized Commisioner Loeb's voice on the megaphone. "_This is the police! Put down the gun, and step away from the girl with your hands up!_"

I knew Edgar wouldn't listen, so he grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me towards him. I let out a yelp as I was pushed against his chest, the gun pointed at me head again. I heard a couple of the polices' own guns turn off their safety's when Edgar started to move, but then I heard Gordon. Jim! Jim was here!

"Don't shoot!" he ordered. "Hold your fire!"

Edgar chuckled.

"Smart move, Sergeant," he laughed heartily. "A very wise decision you've made. I suppose this girl is worth something after all,"

"Hey Edgar," I made up my mind about my secret plan.

"What?"

"Is _this_ a wise decision?"

With one firm stab, I thrust the sharp tip on the wing of the batarang into the side of Edgar's leg. I pulled it out before he collapsed, and screamed. The blood that had poured out from the gory gash dripped on my hands from the bloody batarang that I held tightly, and made me want to throw up. But I controlled myself, and stayed strong.

"Because, personally," I replied calmly. "I think it's a _**very**_ wise decision,"

Trying to get on his feet, Edgar grabbed his gun as I took this opportunity to escape. Though it was painful, I sprinted toward the side ledge of the building. I never stopped. I took a giant leap, and jumped towards the roof on the next building.

"_**Sarah! No!**_" I heard before I had jumped.

I knew it was Batman calling out my name, because I then heard signs of a struggle between him and Edgar as I landed on the roof of Arkham's neighbor building. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't look back. I had to get to Gotham City. I had to get to the bridge. With the batarang safely tucked away in my back-pocket, I continued jumping off from one rooftop to another. It really wasn't that hard, because there was hardly any space between each building. But the pain in my side was growing more intense, and I was stumbling a bit more each time I landed on a roof. I knew that if I kept going at this rate, I would fall unconscious on the roof, or, worse, midair. So I jumped to another roof one last time, and started down the escape ladder the minute I landed. Going down as fast as I could, I planted my feet firmly to the ground when I reached the cement floor. Rushing out of the alley, I took a good look around me. I could still hear the police sirens, but I noticed that they must still be by Arkham. Why were they still there? Where was Batman? Suddenly, I saw the bridge. **_No!_** The police rose the bridge up! They must've done it to keep Edgar in the Narrows with no escape! I had to try to get to Bruce's penthouse, and tell him the whole truth, and tell that I was all right. Where the bridge was split, the midsection met together in the air, almost forming a triangle. The support beams had to be close enough to reach and climb on. Rushing as best as I could, I ran to the side, swinging my leg over the railing. I steadied myself as I swung my other leg over. Keeping a tight hold on the railing, and balancing on the river's side of the edge, I reached for the nearest metal support beam that was underneath part of the risen bridge. When I grabbed a hold of it, I noticed something. My hands reached to my neck. My locket was gone.

"Scummy!" I heard.

Gasping, I whipped my head around to find Edgar, limping as he ran toward me. Never before in my life had I seen such fury, such anger, and such desire to murder in one's eyes. For a time, I felt frozen, but I snapped out of it. Channeling all the strength that I had in me, I pulled myself off of the edge of the railing, and swung onto the support beams. My side hurt from the effort, but only a little bit. I slammed my feet on top of a beam underneath me, and steadied myself. Breathing to keep calm, I could hear Edgar catching up to the bridge. There wasn't that much time. When Edgar started climbing over the railing, I already was climbing the support beams as fast as I could.

"You can't run from me forever!" Edgar shouted as he grabbed onto the first support beam.

But I could try. Thoughts sped in and out of my mind. Where was Batman? Why wasn't he here? Is he all right? I continued climbing up the first half of the bridge until I was almost to the top. Turning my head around, I saw the other half of the bridge, getting closer in sight as I climbed higher and higher. If I could just reach across and get to the other side, then I could climb down the support beams from there, and be in the City of Gotham in no time. Reaching the top of my side of the risen bridge, I exhaled a breath, almost relaxing as I positioned my feet on the railing of which I stood on. Coiling my left arm around the top railing, I looked behind my shoulder. A few yards away was the top support beam of the second half of the bridge. I was almost to freedom. I was almost home. Looking down, I could see Edgar below me, grunting in pain as he climbed higher. Though he was still far below me, I knew that it was only a matter of time, short, precious time, before he would catch up. I have to get to the other side, climb over the top, and slide down to Gotham. It would be much faster than climbing down the other support beams. Problem was...there was no other way to get to the second half of the bridge but to **_jump_** across. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes a bit to compose myself. This was impossible! I can't jump from here to there! It was too far, and too hard, even without all my injuries.

"Ready or not Scummy," I heard Edgar as he was coming closer. "Here I come!"

I shook my head. No. This can't be the end of it. It shouldn't be. **_IT WON'T BE!_** I can't stop now. Not after how far I've come.

"Just think," I told myself, my voice barely above a whisper. "...Just think that you're flying...I'm going home...I'm going home..."

Starting to swing myself on the bar like a monkey, I jumped. However, Edgar had caught up to me at the top of the bridge. His attempt to catch me by the ankle ruined my confidence, making me drop a few feet before I caught myself at a lower support beam on the other side. Painfully, I pulled myself up with my arms wrapped around tightly, my legs swinging back and forth over the river far down below me. My eyes darkened a bit. I was running out of time.

"It's the end of the line, Sarah Chante!" Edgar triumphantly jeered above me from the other side. "The end of your pathetic little story!"

I wasn't listening to him. I was trying to pull myself up. No luck. The pain that I endured in my efforts darkened my eyes more. I hung there, clinging onto the support beam for dear life, literally.

"Batman..." I tried to call out loudly.

My voice was getting weak. Edgar chuckled.

"He can't hear you," he taunted. "No one can. I'm a pretty good distance away from your friends, and no one can stop me from fulfilling me plans,"

"What about the police, Mason?" I asked, trying to corner him. "Your son? Your wife? Batman? Someone's going to confess what you've done, with or without me alive,"

"You're a smart girl,"

Edgar grinned evilly down at me as he pulled the gun out of his back pocket.

"...But we all have our secret identities to choose from. No one will ever find me...Do you have any last words to say before you die?"

"..._**Is your gun loaded?**_"

A small silence was heard between us. I looked up more fully to find Edgar's shocked face as he found that the bullets I took were gone. I mentally grinned to myself. Still hanging on, I managed to take out one of the bullets, and showed it to him in the palm of my hand.

...Hearts beated...

...Drops of sweat streamed down our faces...

...Edgar's face grew red with anger.

"Why you little--" he growled.

...I don't know how it happened. The next few seconds seemed to be erased from my memory. But...When Edgar...He seemed to had forgotten the fact that we were both hanging on for our lives...I think I might've dropped the bullet accidentally...The next thing I know, I hear this haunting, ear-splitting scream as it plummeted down to the depths of the waves and rushing, foaming waters of the Gotham River.

...Edgar died while trying to kill me by letting go of the support beams, and had drowned.

My mouth stayed wide open...I trembled violently...My eyes darken completely and my body goes limp...I'm falling though the air as if I was a precious rag doll that a little girl accidentally dropped from a great height.

That's all right. I don't mind falling. I fell all the time. People fall all the time.

But this time...I can't pick myself up.

It was impossible. I was suddenly awakened for a short while when my body emerged into the freezing cold water of the Gotham River. My head was rushing though many things.

What happened?

I fell into the river.

How?

I slipped from the support beams underneath the bridge. I didn't have that much strength to hold on any longer, and I passed out for a bit.

Does anyone know where I am?

...I don't know. Everything was happening so fast. I couldn't control my swimming movements. There was just too much work to do it with my hurting arms and aching head. I would only surface my head and shoulders out of the water, wade for a second or two, and go back in the water.

I was drowning.

I was running out of time.

I pop my head out, and call for help.

"Batman!" I screamed.

Back down in the water again, deeper and darker down. I had to try again. Pushing myself out, I called out again for a rescue.

"_Batman!_"

Still nothing as I plummet in the dark abyss. My strength was failing. My eyes were darkening again...I had to scream one last time...Pushing myself up towards the water, I gave out another cry.

"**_Bruce!_**"

...Why did I do that?...Why did I scream out my godfather's name?...I can't answer...My body is limp again. M eyes are closed. No one is there to save me this time.

...But it's okay. No one's going to hurt me anymore.

...I'll still miss my friends, though...and Rachel...and Alfred...and Jim...Bruce...especially Bruce.

It's too late now. I can't change my mind. I've already floated down too deep into the river. There was no way for me to regain full consciousness, and swim up to the surface again.

So I fall, still. Slowly. Smoothly. Gracefully. Down, down, down I go. Never to go up. Never to come back. Ever again. I'm dying, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Strong currents pass me underwater, and an arm wraps around my waist tightly, pulling toward a strong chest. Someone heard me scream for help, and dove in to save me. It was a man, that much I can tell by the way he held me. He places something over my mouth as he swims up, with me in his arms. It was some sort of re-breather. It gave me oxygen, but very little of it. My lungs were still filled with water that I had accidentally swallowed while I was drowning. I don't know how we got up on the concrete floor from the bridge, but I do remember feeling as if I was flying through the air. The cold wind attacks me, freezing me in my wet clothes. I barely took notice. At the moment, I could feel myself being pulled into the arms of death. The last grain of sand was bouncing around in the hourglass, wondering if it should end my life by dropping down the small gap.

"No," I hear someone say to me softly. "Don't do this, Sarah. You're not going to die. Not here,"

It's someone familiar. Someone I know. Someone I trust. I want to answer him, but my body could barely function, and my mind wasn't entirely in tune with the world. I was on the brink of death. Immediately, I'm placed on the cold concrete ground, gently, and I felt someone put two fingers under my neck to see if there was any pulse.

Apparently, there was.

My head's tilted back, the re-breather is taken out of my mouth, but it stays open a little. One hand is placed on my chin, and another pinches my nose with its thumb and index finger. Someones lips are pressed against mine, sending huge puffs of air into my lungs. I was being given mouth-to-mouth. His lips left mine after a few huge breaths, and I feel him push on my stomach firmly. Something inside me comes up, but only a little. I was given air again, and that thing inside me came up more. Finally, after a couple more sets of mouth-to-mouth, I feel something come up in my throat, wanting to come out. Life comes back to me as I gurgle, squeeze my eyes tightly, and wildly cough up the nasty water I swallowed in the river. I turn on my side still coughing, open my eyes a little, and hold my side. As I wonder where I am, I feel someone pull back the wet hair from my face gently.

"Good girl," I hear as I breathe as much as I could. "It's all right. It's over now. I'm taking you home,"

Weakly and painfully, I look up at my rescuer. Very little surprise came to my face when I saw Batman on his knees, leaning over me. He had this troubled look on his face that I will never forget.

"How did you--" I softly say in a weak voice.

I can't finish. The pain in my side hurts so much. My body was shaking from the cold. My forehead was burning. Immediately, I'm wrapped up in the black cape and picked up, my head resting on Batman's shoulder.

"Easy now," he whispers. "Just close your eyes. You need to rest,"

"I--I can't," I whisper in a tired voice. "There's still...I--I gotta tell you--"

"Tell me later," Batman starts to walk toward the tank, with me in his arms. "Close your eyes and go to sleep. You'll feel better soon,"

"There's a--" I murmur, not listening. "--A bullet in my pocket. It's from Edgar's gun...They--they mentioned something earlier. A--about a tape...Some...something to...something to do with my...my parents,"

As I continued talking, my voice grew quieter, and I mumbled my words. Both my body and my mind were getting weaker by the moment, but still, I kept on going, trying to get whatever it was I wanted to say out of my mouth. Feeling myself being lowered into a reclined seat, I still spoke in a pained voice.

"Please," I whisper. "You have to listen to me. My money. I never spent it. I--I put it in a new account. It's under my godfather's name so that he could get it. The password is as same as mine. Please, you have to--"

"Sarah," a soft voice whispers in my ear as a hand brushes the side of my head. "...I know. I heard you. It's all right. Now listen to me: You have to get some rest. You're too weak to do anything as it is,"

"...Where are you taking me?"

"Home, where your godfather is waiting for your return. But you need to rest, all right?...Turn your head toward the sound of my voice..."

I did so, but in a tired way.

"Good. Now open your eyes a bit, and follow this light as best as you can,"

Weakly, I opened my eyes as a hand was placed behind my head so I could focus on one point. A bright shining light was shone into my eyes...a red light. It must've been some sort of device that would trigger my mind to get some sleep or something...I didn't have time to think more on that subject.

The moment I laid eyes on the red light, I slipped back in unconsciousness.

* * *

(A/N: Review please! I am so sorry I haven't been able to update lately. I've been so busy. Next chapter won't be a long wait, I promise)


	26. Why Didn't You Tell Me?

Disclaimer: I do not own "Batman Begins"

My head feels heavy. It's hard to move it. In fact, it was hard to move anything. I let out a muffled moan through my lips. Everything hurts. I hear voices right above me, not so far away. Someone's holdng my hand, stroking it with their thumb. I try to see who it is, but I can't open my eyes. I'm lying somewhere soft, warmly covered up, my head on a big, soft pillow. I listen to the voices above me, trying to find out who they were, and if they would give me any clue as to where I was. Obviously I must've been somewhere safe, and that there was one male voice and one female voice. But they sounded familiar. Who were they?

"She was _**drowning**_?" asked the surprised female voice in a whispered tone. "_**In the river**_? How did she end up there? I thought the police raised the bridges to keep Edgar from escaping!"

"Quiet," I heard the stern, deep and raspy male voice. "You'll wake her up,"

I moan a little again, trying tp speak up.

"Mom?" I manage to mummble.

I never thought someone would hear me, but whoever was sitting next to me and stroking my hand just stood up, and let out a surprised gasp. Footsteps backed away from where I was lying and stopped. As I move my head from side to side, someone else sits next to me from a closer spot. A hand is placed on my forehead to hold my head still. I stop moving my head, and the hand brushes a few stray hairs away from my face.

"Dad?" I mummble again.

"Shh," I hear from the male voice. "Go back to sleep, Sarah,"

I wanted to protest, but I was exhausted. Before I fell back asleep, I heard the female voice speak up.

"You're telling her the truth," it said firmly. "Tonight,"

THE NARROWS

Sergeant Jim Gordon stood amidst the police cars and ambulences overlooking the scene of the crimes that had been committed. Evidence had been taken in immedietly to be analyzed and both bodies of Edgar Mason and Ethan Peak were found, bagged, and shipped off to the morgue for Cause-of-Death analysis. The ambulences proved useless though. The kidnapped girl, Sarah Chante, wasn't around to be brought in for medical attention. Gone. Vanished. She wasn't dead, Gordon knew that for sure. He watched the bodies being stored into the back of an ambulence and started walking away from the scene.

"Get 'em out of here," he said to the ambulence guys, banging on the back doors of their vehicle.

As the police cars and ambulences drove away, Gordon walked to an alleyway by Arkham Asylum. He looked around the darkness and braced himself.

"You said to meet here?" he asked aloud.

"I took the girl home," said a raspy voice.

Gordon turned around to face the Batman, his eyes glowing and head sort of bent to face the ground in order to avoid eye contact. The cold wind made the cape flap in the air, giving a mysterious aura about the Dark Knight. Gordon wasn't afraid of him this time. After the last couple of encounters with this guy, Gordon had officially put his trust in the Batman.

"How is she?" Gordon asked, worried of the well-being of his deceased friend's daughter.

Batman raised his head a bit.

"She's hurt," he got to the point. "A few cuts and bruises. Maybe a gash or two. Still unconcious...since I left her with her godfather. But she'll be fine,"

"How does Wayne feel about all this?" Gordon wondered.

"...Furious. Mad at himself for letting his goddaughter get into this. He's blaming himself for hat happened to Sarah Chante,"

There was a strong hint of anger in the Batman's voice, but Gordon decided not to ask why. A part of him knew: Batman blamed himself for Sarah's condition as well.

"Well," he sighed. "If you two happen to cross paths again in the future, tell him it's not his fault. It's no one's fault. We didn't know it would happen this way,"

"...I'll be sure he get's the message," Batman gutterally said. "...How did you know she was being held captive at Arkham Asylum?"

Gordon sighed, but almost had a hint of a comforting smile on his face.

"You know," he said. "For as long as I've known Sarah Chante and her parents, I've also known that she and her cousin, Josh Mason, would never get along. Ever...Imagine my surprise to see him running into the police department, confessing everything. He told us about the loose floorboard in his father's office, how Sarah was too scared to say anything...His mother had no idea what was going on until we had the boy in Commissioner Loeb's office, telling his story,"

Slowly, Batman nodded.

"And the tape I asked you to check out?" he asked.

From the inside of his long, overcoat pocket, Gordon pulled out a black videotape. It was dated the same date Luke and Jennifer Chante were murdered. He gave it to the Batman when he held out his hand for it.

"...It's horrible what happened to them," Gordon commented. "I'd hate to think what Mason had in store for their little girl,"

"So would I," Batman added.

Obviously, the police had searched the Mason Mansion and Arkham Asylum until they found the videotape. And, obviously, they had viewed the missing security camera footage that proved that Luke and Jennifer Chante were murdered by Edgar Mason. Batman handed it back to Gordon.

"Take it," he said to him. "Destroy it. Hide it. Anything...But _**never**_ let Sarah Chante see this footage. The last thing we want is to haunt her with how her parents were killed,"

Gordon nodded and took the videotape as Batman opened his fist, revealing the bullet that Sarah had informed him about.

"She had this with her," Batman said. "She must've taken it from Masn at some point,"

Gordon took the bullet from Batman and examined it closely. After a bit, he confirmed his thoughts.

"Yep," he nodded. "It's the same calliber that shot Luke and Jennifer, and Matthew McCallister; even matches the gun and the bullet we found on Edgar. He drowned clutching the sucker,"

Putting the bullet in his pocket, Gordon sighed.

"...You know," he said, "Luke and Jennifer, God rest their souls, they would've thought you were an interesting character. They weren't like any other cop in Gotham. If they saw something that needed to changed for their greater good, they set a goal to change it...I guess, Sarah, she might've carried out their dying wish. Or tried to, in a way...Either way, they weren't always alone in their investigations...I'm sure they would've liked to meet the man who saved their daughter tonight,"

Gordon sighed again as he leaned against the brick wall.

"I'll never forget the look on that girl's face the day her parents died," he said sadly. "..._**I**_ was the one who had to tell her the news. I--I was afraid on how she would react. I mean, would she cry? Would she laugh and say 'That was a good one, Jim. I'll have to tell my dad about that for April Fools Day'?...Would she call me a liar and say that it wasn't true?...That her parents would always be there for her...But when I told her, all I got was a blank face...It--It was as if the whole world suddenly left her. The life she knew was gone. That light was gone from her eyes, it was almost as if she had died too...She never spoke for a week...But then you come along, and she's this whole new person...Heh...Her mother was always like what she is now...Look, what I'm trying to say is that you've done something so wonderful for Sarah. You gave her something to hope for, so that she knows that someone was there for her,"

Gordon looked up at the Dark Knight, who had been patiently listening to Gordon, and sort of smiled.

"You gave her a friend," he said.

"...She gave me a friend first," Batman said. "She trusted me. I trusted her...She's a friend of mine,"

WAYNE PENTHOUSE

All was silent now. Nothing but the darkness watched over me through the night as I felt myself waking up. My head still ached, but only for a short while until it started decreasing just a tiny bit. I kept still, wanting to go back to sleep some more, but I couldn't. A gut feeling told me to stay awake for just a little while longer. I felt a sudden chill of wind blow on my face as a window opened, but it was gone as soon as it was closed. The wind had felt so good that I wished it would kiss my cheeks again, but I wanted to sleep more than anything. A little while later, I hear footsteps coming closer to me casually, as if the person thought I was still in a deep sleep. Someone sits on my bed beside me, and I hear a small thud on the table next to me, something being placed there. A hand is placed on my forehead for a millisecond and is quickly drawn back. It seemed I still had that high fever. I tried to remember what happened before I came here, but my thoughts were more focused on the sounds of droplets dripping into what sounded like a bowl of water. A small twist of a bottle cap is taken off and I hear a small trickle as whatever the bottle's contents were muffled a bit, kind of from a washcloth or something. It is placed on the table with the same thud sound and the person shifts their position, leaning forward so I can feel their shadow above me. The washcloth is placed on my head, where a wound was, I suppose, and I'm suddenly attacked with a familiar stinging sensation. My wound prickles and feels like it's scratching this one area of my head. It's really painful. I can't control my winces. I have to--no--I _**need**_ to do something to get my mind off the pain. But there's nothing, and all I can do is just sit up abruptly, squeezing my eyes tightly.

"Ah!" I whimper softly and move a hand to touch my head.

Before I could even touch the wound, my hand was gently caught by someone else. They were rough, but gentle; strong, but had this kind of caring feeling running through their fingers. My head still stung though. I winced and whimpered again as I was lowered back down on the soft mattress.

"Easy," I heard a familiar voice. "Just lay back down and relax. No one's going to hurt you here. You're safe,"

"Where am I?" I asked softly.

",You're home,"

I fluttered my eyes open, and my vision clears up from all the blurs to find Batman looking down at me. I take in my surroundings, finding that I was in a giant bed, covered by thick blankets, my head propped up on fluffy pillows. I moved a little bit, feeling a giant bandage on my side. I was in a set of warm green flannel pajamas that were almost a size too small for me. From the corner of my eye, I could see the small bowl of water, and that yellow tinted medicine that was once used for my leg. But something was missing.

"Where's Bruce?" I asked softly again.

I wanted my godfather with me. I missed him. I was worried about him. Where was he? Batman didn't answer as he patted the washcloth on the gash above my left eye. I winced, but not so much.

"Batman..." I asked again, worried a bit. "Where's my godfather?"

"At the police department," Batman answered me this time."Filling out some papers"

"...And Alfred?"

"He's there also. I told them I would take the night shift here in case you woke up sooner than we thought,"

I laid there, understanding, but not so much. My head was still hurting.

"How long was I asleep?" I wondered.

"...I pulled you out of the water around midnight and you brought you here like your godfather wanted me to. It's almost 5 A.M...I thought I lost you back there,"

I furrowed my eyebrows a bit.

"What?" I exclaimed softly, a bit confused.

Batman hesitated before answering.

"You were near dead when I saved you, Sarah," he said, avoiding eye contact. "Another five seconds, and you would've been gone,"

It took a moment for me to realize what had happened. Then I remembered everything that happened to me that night. And I mean everything. It was like some horrible nightmare that came in both reality and dreams. Unforgettable events that haunted me instantly. It was like, all of a sudden, I had _really_ woken up. My eyes turned wide.My head was racing. I felt like I couldn't breathe. But I stay quiet, as though any sound I would make would cause something horrible to happen.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Batman suddenly asked.

His voice broke into my thoughts and I look at him. Those light green eyes had no emotion in them, but that didn't mean that there wasn't any feeling in them. They also looked hard and stubborn, an unseen anger bottled up, waiting to explode at the right moment. His face was still and expressionless. I didn't understand what he was asking me.

"What do you mean?" I asked softly.

"Why didn't you tell me that Edgar was the one who killed your parents?" Batman asked me again.

There was a small growl hidden in his voice. I knew it. He was angry. I said nothing and lowered my eyes to avoid looking at him.

"I--I was--" I said softly. "...I don't know,"

"I know you don't know," Batman started to scold. "What I don't know is why someone won't tell anyone they found the murderer of their parents. How long have you known? When did you find out?"

"...Two nights ago,"

"The night you were on the roof?"

"...Yes,"

"And how long before our meeting did you know that he killed your parents?"

"..About five minutes...Right after he beat me and I hit my head on his desk and the floorboard that was hiding the gun,"

"_**THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ON THE ROOF? SARAH, YOU COULD'VE STOPPED ALL THIS. YOU WOULD'VE BEEN HERE SOONER THAN YOU THOUGHT RATHER THAN ON THE BRINK OF DEATH AT ARKHAM ASYLUM! YOU WERE ALMOST DEAD WHEN I GOT YOU OUT OF THE RIVER! I COULD BARELY FIND A PULSE! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EDGAR KILLED YOUR PARENTS? JUST TELL ME! WHY?**_"

"...I was scared,"

"_**OF WHAT?**_"

"...Because even if I told you the truth, I would still end up drowning in the river...or be frightened to death at Arkham Asylum...Edgar would still find a way to kill me, even if it took him the rest of his life,"

"...But why try to run away with your cousin to Smallville instead of coming to me, or the police, or your godfather?"

"I thought it would be easier if I just disappeared. I wasn't thinking straight and...wait..."

There was a long silece between us.

"...Batman..." I said in a confused and suspicious tone. "...I never...How did you know that I was running to Smallville with my cousin?"

Batman hesitated to answer as he placed a small square white bandage on the cut on my head. I continued to look at him, wondering how he knew. The more I wondered, the more I remembered all the other times I've been with him: How he knew my parents names, where I lived, my guardianship problem, Mason Mansion, and, maybe, a bunch of other things I never told him.

"...You should thank your cousin if you see him before he leaves tomorrow afternoon," Batman finally answered. "I was at the police station when he came to tell us what he knew and where he thought you were kept,"

Josh came back? He came back to tell the police? How did he know I was kidnapped? Where was he leaving? I stayed quiet, but acknowledge it a bit.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," was all I could say.

"...Get some rest," Batman ordered.

As he got up, I shifted down further under the covers, getting into a better position to sleep in. I winced as I felt the wound on my side sting, but kept it only to myself. Starting to close my eyes to try to sleep, I spoke again in a quiet voice.

"Will I ever see you again?" I asked. "...Batman?..."

No answer. I opened my eyes. No Batman. I craned my head up and looked around in my dark room. He was gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Never to be seen again.I deserved it for not telling anyone about Edgar. But there was so much I had to tell him. So much I wanted to ask him...Oh no! I forgot to tell him that I had his batarang! I sat up instantly, only to stop as I let out a painful gasp, thanks my side wound. I suck the air through my teeth waiting for the pain to pass. Clenched teeth and small, tightly closed eyes softened as the annoying stabs subsided. I exhale and push the covers off of me. I also remembered that I didn't know where the batarag was as I planted my bare feet on the carpet--Meaning, I lost something that didn't belong to me. Pushing myself up and wincing again, I decided that I should tell Bruce, or at least wait for him and Alfred downstairs until they got back from the police station. Quietly, I opened the door and slunked out into the hallway as if I felt I was being followed. Even though I was under the impression that no one was in the penthouse, I had this sudden feeling that I should be quiet. Arms folded across my chest, head sort of looking down to see my feet walk on the solid floor, I felt like I had gone back to the point of my story where I first learned of my parents deaths. I felt quiet, alone, scared, isolated in a dark place with no way in or out. I felt afraid, sad, and feeling as if I had lost my voice for good.

I had.

But something happened. Something awful happened. Something unexpected happened. Something strange. Out of place. Mysterious. Curious. Scary...

...It was the last thing that I thought would ever happen.

_**Ever.**_

As I reached the bottom of the staircase, I looked up. My eyes were wide. There was the Batman, sitting in a chair, with his back turned to me. I stay frozen on the spot. I didn't say anything. I felt that if I moved, it would be my last. Oddly enough, I was surprised to discover that he didn't seem to notice my presence, like he usually did. Furrowing my eyebrows in a curious way, I almost dared to make my first step toward him. A noise sounded. It was the phone on the table beside where Batman was sitting. For a millisecond, I stay frozen, before ducking behind the staircase, looking through the small space between the steps as Batman casually picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he answered in a far more human voice. "...Hey...Yes, she's fine...No, there weren't any side effects. Thank you, Mr. Fox,"

Fox?_ Lucius _Fox? The man who works with Bruce in the Applied Sciences Department at Wayne Enterprises? How did he and Batman know each other?

"No," Batman contined. "She's resting right now. She's had a tough two nights; didn't get any real sleep. She looked exhausted...Actually, I got the antidote to her right before the toxin would take control of her mind. A few more seconds and the damage would've become permanent,"

His voice is more familiar than ever. Where have I heard it before? I duck down into the shadows a bit further as Batman stands up to face the window overlooking Gotham in the quiet night.

"I'm afraid the only way Sarah will see Batman again will be on newspapers ad on news broadcasts at 6 o'clock every evening," Batman continued. "...No, I've decided not to tell her the truth,"

The truth? About what? What was he talking about? What was going on here?

"I have to go Fox. I have to get some rest...All right. Thanks again,"

Batman hangs up the phone and walks closer to the window up to the point where I could see his masked face in the reflection. I watch him, waiting for him to leave so I could go back upstairs, so that no one will ever know I had snuck down here. Instead, he sighs as he takes off his gloves and bends down his head, placing his hands on the side of the bat cowl.

My eyes are wide. It was an interesting thing to witness the Batman taking off his mask. It was a sight that I think very few people saw. He keeps his head down as he wipes his eyes with his gloves, probably to take off that black stuff shaded around his eyes.

He has dark hair. He looked younger than I thought he would be. I stand up a bit to get a closer look. His head comes up, his face reflecting in the window.

Those eyes...I know those eyes...I had seen those light green eyes from my godfather.

...That face. I know that face. My godfather has the same face.

My heart is racing. My lips are shuddering. I shake my head in disbelief. No. I can't believe it! I **WON'T** believe it!

_**My godfather, Bruce Wayne, was the Batman...**__**the Dark Knight of Gotham!**_

My head spins. I let out an involuntary gasp. Bruce's head whips around and sees me. Our eyes lock for a moment before he realizes himself what had happened. His face obviously inhibited the look of fear. A fear that he had deep within his heart. He had feared of his goddaughter, me, of finding out his nightly alter ego. I could see in his eyes that he assumed I would never find out. But fate had other plans in mind.

I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. It all seemed like some sort of strange dream. All of a sudden, I didn't know who this man that stood only a few feet away from me was.

Who was he?

Was he the rich, young, handsome, bachelor billionaire that had lived in luxury for most of his life? Was he the man that I saw in muddy clothes as he got on the jet place, returning from his 7-year exile? Was he the man who promised my parents that he would look after me, care for me, and love me as they did? Was he the man who promised me that things would get better?

Or was he the man that came from the darkest shadows of the night? Was he that mysterous guardian angel that rescued me at the docks? Was he the one who showed me what it was like to fly? Was he the one who rescued me from the river that night? Was he the one that I first spoke to since the death of my parents? Was he the reason I was not afraid of the dark anymore? Was he the one who haunted men's dreams with fear and darkness?

I can't say anything. My mouth hung open a little and my body felt frozen in place. What was there to say? How do you start off a conversation with your godfather when, two seconds earlier, you just found out that he was the Batman?

It all seems so dark now. An old familiar friend rises within me. It's too dark.

...I don't like the dark. I don't like it anymore. You don't know what's going on, and you can't see anything.

You feel like you're blind.

...How could I not know? How could I not see? How could I not decipher the clues that were practically given to me on a silver platter?

Bruce was the first to speak, although it took a bit for him to actually start.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked in a soft, low voice.

What could I say? How could I even _speak_ for that matter? I could still see the Batman in my head, but my mind was telling the truth: I was seeing my godfather in the batsuit. It was like I was in some upside-down world...

...But then I remembered what happened to Bruce when he was younger; when he fell into the well, my well of broken hearts; when those masses of bats attacked him.

When I looked up, I instinctively took a step back. As I was thinking, Bruce had slowly walked toward me to where I was hiding underneath the stairs. My back was up against the wall. Bruce had come close enough to where he could touch me with an outstretched arm. I couldn't look away from him. He looked at me sternly, but concerned, wondering why I was taking so long to answer him.

"Sarah?" he asked again.

Again, I said nothing. Instead, I did the unthinkable. The moment I saw those eyes, those eyes whose mysterious identities were revealed to me a minute before, I ran. Going past my godfather in a lightening bolt pace, I rushed to the steps of the stairs, trying to get upstairs to my room as fast as I could. Maybe if I hurried, I could reach my bed in time to wake up and find that all of what I had seen in the past five minutes was nothing more than a dream; a nightmare that was an effect of the traumatic of the night Edgar died and I almost drowned. I would then wake up and find everyone I have ever loved around me.

No. I change my mind. When I wake up, I want my parents in the kicthen at the old apartment in the Narrows. I want my mom making chocolate chip pancakes with bacon. I want my dad sitting at our old kitchen table reading The Gotham Times, drinking a hot cup of coffee out of the "Best Dad In The World!" I had given him for Father's Day, with which I saved a month's allowance for. I want to wake up in my small room in my twin sized bed from a bad nightmare.

_**I WANT ALL OF THIS TO BE A DREAM! NOT REAL! AS IF MY PARENTS WERE STILL ALIVE!**_

"Sarah! Wait!" Bruce shouted from behind me

I didn't listen. I didn't even _**WANT**_ to listen. As far as I was concerned, I may as well have been dreaming all this, so why listen to something that wasn't real? Bruce couldn't be Batman! It wasn't possible! He was afraid of bats! None of this was making any sense. Everything was turning upside down.

I had left the bedroom door open so I would be able to find it again. Grabbing the doorknob, I rushed into the room so I could close and lock the door. But when I looked in front of me, Bruce was rushing to get to the door before I would be able to close it and lock him out. I firmly stuck my foot by the door to serve as a door stopper so I could stop him from coming in. A heavy jolt against me had started a struggle between my godfather and I to either open or close the door. The doorknob twisted and turned in my hand as Bruce tried to open the door wide enough for him to get in. No way is he coming in. No way.

"Sarah, let go of the doorknob, and let me in," Bruce said in a stern, commanding voice as he stopped for a moment.

I continued to try and push him with the door, but it would only move a few centimeters. Digging the heel of my barefoot into the floor while the other foot was stopping the door, I firmly place both of my hands on the door, trying to push it close. Bruce continued to fight against me.

"Sarah, let me in!" he almost shouted.

"No..." I softly say, shaking my head.

I was slipping a bit. Not good.

"Sarah, let me in right now!"

"No," I say again, a little louder this time.

No Bruce. I can't let you in. I won't let you in. I don't want to be lied to again. What if he tried to tell me that I was just dreaming? What if he told me that him being Batman wasn't what I was thinking? What if he told me that I was still suffering hallucinations left over from Crane's fear toxin?

But what if I was dreaming? What if I was imaining things? What if Bruce wasn't Batman? What if I was hallucinating?

I shook my head. Whatever the case, I didn't want to face anyone who would only just lie to me. With one burst of strength I had in me, I violently pushed the door closed with all my might, locking it with quick agility before my godfather would try to get in. I backed away as the doorknob rattled and the door shook as Bruce shouted my name, ordering me to let him in. What was I going to do? I couldn't stay in here foever. Besides, Bruce was strong enough to break the door down. One thing I knew for sure, I couldn't just stand there. Backing away, I looked around myself, trying to see if there was anything at all to help me. There was nothing so far. The door in front of me shook violetnly. I jumped, tripping over a few items from a table in front of the bed that I tried to cling onto. They came down to the floor with me, glass shattering and heavy items thudding and clattering by my covered head.

"Sarah!" Bruce shouted even louder through the door. "Open the door right now!"

I wasn't listening. When I fell down, the glass of a picture frame had broken into pieces. I looked up to find the picture it had, which was now surrounded by shards of sticking glass...

A younger version of my mother was staring right back at me with a happy smile, almost looking like me when I was happy. It was the same picture I saw in Bruce's old room back at Wayne Manor. A younger version of my godfather, and Rachel standing on either side of my mother. They were smiling too. They looked happy...Had I even seen those bright smiles before? Everything seemed so simple in the City of Gotham when they were my age. There were no murders. No godfather's who just appeared out of thin air. No large amount of money that was waiting to be inherited when I came of legal age. No private schools. No mobsters. No corrupt cops. No asylum directors who dressed up as scarecrows. No toxin that made you hallucinate the things you were most afraid of. No abusive uncles who were trying to kill you. No men who became bats at night trying to protect a doomed city. No secret identities. No lies. No secrets. No deceit whatsoever. Everything just seemed so...so...

I tilted the picture so I could see my reflection in the broken shards. Did I see a happy face? No. I saw a sad little girl, recovering from the horrrific events that were brought upon her by a man full of hate that had been built up inside for twelve years. I shook my head, my face twisting with anger and pain. I ignored the fact that the door stopped shaking and focused more on my thoughts. I was angry for what Edgar had done to me these past few weeks. Angry at the fact that Bruce had been lying to me so that I wouldn't find out about him being Batman. The door behind me was opening. In the heat of the moment, I turned back to the door, throwing the picture frame to the wall with a yell of rage. As Bruce entered the room with a key he had found, he flinched as the picture frame hit the wall beside him, shattering more glass into smaller shards. Before he had time to recover from his moment of shock at my behavior, I made a dash to get past him and out the door. Unfortunetly, he was snapped back to reality, and grabbed me around the waist, but also trying to be careful to not hurt me on my side wound. Thrashing, kicking, and struggling to get out of his grip, I fought my godfather with a burst of energy that I had never known before.

"Let go of me!" I screamed. "Let go! Let me go! Let go!"

It seemed that Bruce wasn't affected by my struggles. He just dragged me back into the room, keeping his arms tightly wrapped around my waist. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get away from my godfather. He was too strong for me to fully take on. Each time I moved to try and free myself, a part of my body would twinge or ache with pain; most of my shoutings of protest were filled with anguish. Still, I kept on fighting, hoping to win this battle against the man who was both Batman and Bruce Wayne.

"Let go!" I shouted again.

"Sarah," Bruce fastened his grip on me and calmly spoke. "Listen to me--"

I shook my head. No. Don't lie to me. I won't listen to you.

"Yes, Sarah," Bruce sternly said as if I protesed him verbally. "You have to listen to me if you want to know what's going on. That means that you are going to have to stop struggling, look at me, and listen--"

Again, I didn't want to listen to Bruce. A few, short seconds later, I managed to free myself, breaking into a run once more toward the open bedroom door. Of course, Bruce was a faster runner than I was, so he closed and locked the door before I even had a chance to get out. I back away quickly to a dark corner of the room, feeling trapped...I _was_ trapped. Bruce stood a few feet away from me, his entire body still, and a pleading sort of look on his face. I could tell from his face that this wouldn't be an easy task to deal with. But I still didn't want to listen to him. I still believed that Batman and Bruce Wayne were two, very different people. My whole body shook with fear, anger, and confusion, and beads of sweat ran down my forehead. Hesitantly, Bruce took a step toward me, his hands in front of him showing that he didn't mean any harm.

"Sarah..." he softly started. "Look at me..."

I didn't need an order to look at someone I was already looking at. Once more, I had found myself lost in those light green eyes. Many times before had I questioned myself on where I had seen those eyes before...and they all occured between two people...

...Batman and Bruce Wayne...

...The Dark Knight and my godfather...

...My trusted ally and my best friend...

For a few seconds, everything between us was quiet. Still. Not a word was spoken...Then I crumpled to the ground, breaking into sobs that I had held for a long time. How could this have happened? I didn't udnerstand. My head rested against the wall, and though I shook violently with fearful sobs, my body felt heavy to move as it sunk to the ground. The moment I had started crying, Bruce had rushed to my side. He was now on his kness beside me, a hand on my shoulder trying to see my face. I didn't want to. I mean, I couldn't. I didn't have to. Bruce's face was still in my head, his masculine figure still clad in the Batman cape and armor.

"Sarah..." he started to say.

His voice was soft. Sypathetic. It was as if he was trying to get the tone of his voice to say that he was sorry for not telling me the truth about him. The truth about Batman. I shook my head, a part of me refusing to listen to my godfather. Yet, there was another part of me that wanted to ask him:

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Still, I cried, even as Bruce gently pulled me into his arms, wrapping them around my shaking body. I had even found myself hugging him back, crying on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he softly whispered to my ear.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, trying to swallow another sob with no success.

"...I'm sorry,"

I grew tired. Restless. Impeccably confused, but perfectly aware of what was happening. My head started to feel like a sack of cinder blocks, too heavy to lift up. The sobs that I had made and the tears that I had spilled forced my throat to be painfully sore, and my eyelids to close in a sudden weariness. Sensing my fatigue, Bruce started to put his arms under my legs and my arms, lifting me off the ground. The aches and pains in my sides struck me with a vengeance, but only made me whimper uncomfortably.

"Shh," Bruce whispered. "I know. I know...I'm sorry this happened to you,"

Bruce sat down on the bed with me in his arms, his back resting against the headboard. He had his cape still on and he used it as a substitue blanket. Wrapping it around me, I felt a comforting warmth in his arms and in the cape. But I felt confused. This was Batman's cape. Not Bruce's. Or was it Bruce's cape and not Batman's?

"You need to sleep," I heard an echoing whisper in my ear. "...Sleep..."

And so I did, hoping that tomorrow would be a brighter day.

(A/N: I'm sorry for the delay, you guys. I had work, and school ending, and I had to make sure that I had this chapter fit perfectly in the best way that I could. Hopefully I did, and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. But first, I'd like to get your opinion on "The Dark Knight"

fanfiction I am trying to plan out with Sarah in it.I'm pretty sure you are all psyched about the movie coming out. I have as well, considering I took a field trip in Chicago with my French 2 class on the day they started filming a block away from where we were going. Filming the bank robbery scene with the school buses, to be more exact. lol.. But, I would like to hear what you would like to see in that. The only interesting thing I have already is the Joker having something to do with Sarah's past...Hmm..Review please. That is the only spoiler I will give for that particular story. -)


	27. A Blast From The Past

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

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Bruce stood patiently by where his goddaughter slept as Lucius Fox sat on the bed beside her, taking a sample of her blood. Ever since Sarah found out the truth early that morning, Bruce had been worried. The moment she had finally closed her eyes, Sarah had been making noises in her sleep, tossing and turning as if she were having a nightmare. Worried for her health, Bruce immediately called Fox, negatively anxious that the antidote to Crane's fear toxin was not the proper dosage for the second time.

Fortunately, Fox only diagnosed a severe case of fever dreams, due to lack of proper sleep and nutrition. After giving her a sedative, Sarah seemed to calm down, but Bruce could see that the emotion was still there. Her forehead was still in a crease, indicating her uneasy rest. He stepped forward a bit, anxious to hear the results.

"Is she going to to be all right?" he asked.

Lucius gave a reassuring smile to his employer.

"A few hours more rest and she'll be fine," he said as he finished taking the blood sample. "But I'll go ahead and check for any negative effects in her blood, just in case,"

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Bruce wondered.

"...Well, that depends on her. But I would say somewhere around this afternoon at the latest. If anything happens, call me,"

Bruce nodded, understanding the instructions given to him, and gave a small smile to Lucius Fox.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Pleasure is all mine, Mr. Wayne," Fox stood up. "Just make sure she eats something when she wakes up,"

Bruce nodded again as Fox patter his employer's shoulder in comfort before leaving the room, and stayed behind. Standing still by the bed with hands in his pockets, he watched his late friend's daughter in her sleeping state, quietly hoping that she would wake up in the next few minutes or so. However, Bruce knew Sarah had barely over 2 hours of good sleep in the past 3 days, so he put the thought out of his goddaughter waking up anytime soon out of his mind.

She stirred a bit, making Bruce's heart skip a beat, but he quickly realized that it was only a move of discomfort due to the twinges of pain she received once in a while.

It had been so quiet in the Wayne Penthouse that hardly anyone spoke. When Alfred was on his way to ask his master about Sarah's well-being and her state of condition, he was astonished to find Bruce early that morning holding his sleeping goddaughter in his arms. It was in that moment when Alfred took notice of Bruce still being in his Batman suit and cape, and realized that Sarah knew the truth. And not by being told...But by discovery.

Alfred didn't think it was the best time to scold his young Master Bruce about being warned of this day happening. Somehow, he could tell the from the moment Bruce decided to become Batman, the mere coming of the day when Sarah would learn of his alter-ego had been a haunting and constant warning. Over the past few weeks, Alfred could tell from his masters expressions and tones of voice that he was debating in his mind of confessing to his goddaughter.

Knowing the truth or being ignorant of it is a double-edged sword: You can either embrace it and live in fear and danger because you know it, or, perhaps, you can shun it, but you will still live in fear and danger because you don't know the truth.

Nobody is safe or in danger of the truth. It may be hard to understand that phrase, but if you think about it long enough, it's true. You can use the truth to your advantage in all situations: Tell someone about it, make it a lie, use it as a symbol of your morals, do anything with it.

But the consequences that come from the many different choices on how you handle the truth will be judged on the intention of your heart.

"Bruce..."

A worried, but melodic, voice broke Bruce out of his trance, making him turn around to find Rachel standing in the doorway with a wrapped gift in her hands. Cautiously, Rachel walked into the room, her eyes locked onto where Sarah rested.

"How is she?" she asked quietly.

"She's resting," Bruce replied in the same tone.

Nodding, Rachel stood beside her friend, still looking at Sarah lying in bed asleep. For a while, neither of them spoke. Nothing but the sound of soft breathing in a steady rhythm was heard in the room. Or the whole penthouse for that matter.

"...Does she know?" Rachel asked in a soft voice.

"...Yeah," Bruce whispered. "...She knows..."

Rachel nodded to herself, understanding the tone in Bruce's voice. She was quietly putting the pieces of the puzzle in her head on how Sarah figured out the secret of Batman's true identity as Bruce Wayne. Whatever or however it ended, it was not a very subtle discovery. She decided that since it was going to be a silent, tormenting visit pretty soon, Rachel spoke again, hoping the awkward silence would die away.

"How did she take it?" she asked Bruce softly.

The reaction Bruce sent in response to Rachel's question was a variety of emotions: Stress, uncertainty, frustration, anger, worry, and many others. He sat himself down on the chair beside the bed, trying to find a proper place to begin his side of the story on how Batman's secret identity was revealed to his goddaughter.

"I swear Rachel," he explained, his voice half whispered, and half shocked. "I never meant to scare her. Out of all the ways she had to find out who Batman was, Sarah found out in the worse possible way,"

"She was scared?" Rachel asked, concerned.

Before he answered, Bruce glanced up to the bed, a small part of him hoping that Sarah would wake up earlier than expected to save him from explaining the previous night's events.

But the fluttering of sleepy, light blue eyes would not happen. At least not for a while. So Bruce went on.

"...It almost looked like she would scream," he continued. "Her face looked exactly like it did when I saved her from Falcone's men at the docks. She just kept staring at me as if I was about to kill her. When I got close to her, she just took off upstairs and tried to keep me out of the room. I got in there, she tries to run again, but I wouldn't let her go...She took one good look at me and started crying when she realized that I was both Batman and Bruce Wayne and that she didn't see it all this time. After I had gotten her to go to sleep, she gets sick, as if things couldn't get any worse. Lucius Fox was just here a few minutes ago. He says she's just dealing with fever dreams from sleep deprivation and malnutrition...She's not going to wake up for a few more hours, though,"

"Let her rest, Bruce," Rachel advised. "She deserves it after what's happened to her these past few weeks,"

With an exhaled breath of worry, Bruce nodded as Rachel straightened herself up, setting the wrapped gift on the bedside table, then bent over where Sarah rested on the bed, and planted a small, motherly kiss on the young girl's feverish forehead. Standing up straight as she still stared at her late friend's daughter, Rachel couldn't help but sadly smile. She looked at Bruce

"She looks so much like Jenny, doesn't she?" she asked, almost giggling.

For the first time in a long while, Bruce smiled a little.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I almost thought it was her when I first saw her on the flight back home,"

Rachel chuckled more and sighed when the small, happy moment was over.

"Listen, um," she started, digging into her pocket. "Last night, when Sergeant Gordon took some men to search Edgar's mansion for any evidence, the found some things in the attic that belonged to Luke and Jennifer...Gordon thinks Sarah found it a few nights earlier because the lock on the door didn't look like it was opened by a key. Neither did the doors on hers and Josh's rooms. Anyway, um, their things are in storage now until Sarah takes it at 18, except...There was something in one of the boxes for you, Bruce,"

As Bruce grew confused as to why that was, Rachel pulled out an old envelope that had his name addressed to him on the front...

...Written in handwriting he knew too well.

"Jenny had something for me in there?" he asked, taking the letter as Rachel handed it to him.

Rachel nodded solemnly as Bruce carefully opened the envelope. It looked like an old letter, by how easily the seal broke. Slowly, he took out a neatly folded, 2-paged letter with equally neat handwriting. Settling into a pensive mood, Bruce quietly read the letter to himself:

**_Dear Bruce--_**

**_I know it has only been months since you were declared dead and that writing this letter to you is useless and won't heal my broken, mourning heart. But I felt a strange feeling in my gut to write this letter to you, telling you everything that has been on my mind for a long time. This letter would've been given to you immediately after whatever fatal happened to Luke and I, explaining to you why I chose you to be Sarah's godfather. I actually should have written it before she was even born so you would be able to get it if you were still here._**

**_The reason I'm writing this is because since you were declared dead, I go through each day thinking of all the times we spent together as kids, and as we grew up. I remember when you, Alfred, and Rachel came to see me in the hospital a few days after Sarah was born. While Alfred and Rachel couldn't get enough of how beautiful she looked, I could not help but notice you standing as far away as possible from the hospital bed. At first you look like you were disappointed that it wasn't a boy as you had so desperately hoped, but when I looked closer, I saw a sad smile on your face. I had actually decided a month before Sarah's birth for you to be the godfather, but I never really took the time to think about why you would be my first pick._**

**_I admit you looked confused too, when I asked you that same day. I practically made you hold her in your arms, and you neber looked so awkward before. The look on your face was priceless! I could definelty imagine Rachel and Alfred eavesdropping on that certain conversation._**

**_In fact I think they were._**

Bruce smirked a little. Of course Jennifer would know. She always knew when something was up.

**_Anyway, I thought that I should explain to you the reasons other than the obvious ones (Love her, care for her, spoil her rotten, etc.) why I thought you were a good choice._**

**_Do you remember when we were kids and we were fooling around in the garden when we weren't supposed to? Rachel found that arrowhead and wouldn't let us see it, until you grabbed it from her and hid on top of that old well. When it collapsed and you fell, I had never been so scared in my entire life. I still remember when I looked down at you from where Rachel and I stood how far away down you were. I practically screamed at Rachel to go get your father and Alfred while I stayed with you. "Frantic" cannot even describe how I felt while I was waiting._**

**_When those bats shot out of the well and I realized that you were still there, only now you were screaming in terror, I almost passed out for fear of you being attacked._**

**_Your father was a great man, and I miss him terribly. It was a good thing he was there to catch me from behind when I almost collapsed. I remember him setting me on the ground, telling me to take deep breaths and that everything was going to be all right. But I still felt like I couldn't move. In fact, I didn't even want to until I knew you were all right. I don't remember much after that other than waking up to find your father wrapping a blanket around me and carrying me inside Wayne Manor, telling me that you were all right. He said something that i always took to heart and always will. He said:_**

**_"Why do we fall Jennifer? So we can learn to pick ourselves up"._**

**_I was devastated when your parents were murdered. That was the day when I realized that our childhood innocence was over and that it was time to grow up. I woke up that night thinking something bad had happened and when I was coming downstairs to get a drink of water, that's when i realized i was right. My mother and father were standing in front of the television watching the breaking news footage and when I saw you at the police station holding your father's coat, I ran back to my room crying._**

**_The day of the funeral, I had gone up to your room to say how sorry I was for the loss. You had been very quiet since the night of the murder and I had hoped that if you knew had a friend that would always be there for you, you would speak. But as I heard you crying to Alfred about how your parents death was your fault, I had my first grown-up thought: There would be nothing I could do in my power to make you fully happy again:_**

**_But like Alfred said:_**

**_"It was nothing that you did"._**

**_Over the years that went by since that day, you, Rachel, and I still stayed together like glue. The only time I could think of us being apart was me going to a boarding school in Metropolis when I was 17 for the second semester of junior year. However, I knew somewhere inside me that that bat incident and the loss of your parents had changed you somehow. For better or for worse will be a mystery that I feel I will not be around to solve._**

**_Bruce I know that you had a gun in your coat pocket the day Joe Chill was murdered._**

Bruce's heart almost stopped at this sentence. How could Jennifer know about the gun? She wasn't anywhere near his coat the day...Wait a minute...

_**Rachel and I had been catching up on some things in your kitchen, seeing as how it had been a long time since we have seen each other. You came in and I felt like the whole gang was complete again. But while Rachel was trying to convince you to not come to Chill's parole hearing, I had reached for me coat, but accidentally grabbed yours, seeing as how our coats were in the same color. At first , I didn't think anything of it, but then I felt the bulk of the holster as well as the trigger. After 5 or 6 years at the time of carrying a gun around as part of my job as a detective, I knew what a gun looked like, felt like, or when a person would be hiding a gun. You were hiding your gun in your outside pocket on the right hand side, I believe, if I remember correctly.**_

_**The reason I didn't tell you or anyone else about what I knew was because I didn't know exactly if I what I thought you were going to do would be trie. And it wasn't. Luke arrested the woman who had shot Joe Chill at the courthouse himself. He later told me what he saw and testified in court a week later. Besides, while everyone else was trying to pull themselves together, you found Sarah when I couldn't. I remember how she looked too. She looked calm, and if she had been crying, whatever you did, you got her to stop.**_

_**The last time I ever saw you was when you and Rachel were leaving to take Sarah home so that Luke and I could finish up some paperwork.**_

_**I still smile and laugh a bit when I remember how sleepy and exhausted Sarah was. Her little arms were wrapped around your neck and her head was buried in your shoulder, I don't even think she was awake at all when Rachel made you carry her out to her car.**_

_**If I had known that it was going to be the last time I ever saw you, I would have taken a picture.**_

_**But when breaks me heart more is what Rachel told me that night.**_

_**She never told me anything about the gun, but I suspected that she knew a little bit. She did, however, tell me that when she was driving away from wherever she dropped you off, Sarah was on her knees in the backseat looking out the rear window at you.**_

_**Turns out she had been awake for a good part of the car ride considering she asked what the Narrows was and why she couldn't live there. Whatever you guys were doing talking about Sarah and the Narrows, I'll never know. But, my daughter, out of all of us, was the last one to see you and I don't even think she remembers it. It still makes me cry when I still hear Rachel's voice in my head saying that Sarah asked if you were coming back or not.**_

_**Bruce, I know you're out there. I know that you're still alive. There's something in my gut that makes me positive about it. You're out there somewhere, and if you were dead, I would definitely know.**_

_**Wishing you were here.**_

_**Your friend,**_

_**Jenny.**_

After he had finished reading the letter, Bruce finally looked up and back at Jennifer's daughter in the bed. Rachel had left in the middle of the letter thinking it would be a good time to leave him alone with his thoughts.

Bruce sighed and held his heads in hims hands before burying his arms on the bed, making it look like he was sleeping. If he had known what Jennifer was thinking as she watched him make the choices that led him to this point in life, maybe things would have been a little different.

Would he still have been gone for seven years?

Would Luke and Jennifer still be alive?

Would he still have become Batman?

Would he and Rachel have a life together?

Would Sarah still be an orphan?

Before he allowed himself to explore anymore possible scenarios based on the decisions he had or would have made, Bruce fell asleep for the first time in 20 hours, his head still on the edge of the bed, still covered by his arms as a substitute pillow, and still sitting in the chair by his goddaughter's side.

* * *

(A/N: I apologize for this short entry and the small delay. Hopefully, the next one will be up soon. My plan is to finish this before September. Review please! Oh! Also, if you do review, please put down what you would like to see happen in the sequal, to help me spark up some ideas. I saw the movie at a midnight showing, which was freakin' packed, and the whole plot seemed so intense that there was just too many ideas for "The Dark Knight's Companion" plot. The only thing I know for sure is that Sarah's only going to be a year older. She'll be having her 13th birthday in the story. Other than that, I need some back-up. Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter and had a little more insight on Luke and Jennifer Chante.)


	28. Let's Start Over

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

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There wasn't any pain.

There wasn't any confusion.

No anger. No aches. No tears. No sadness. No amount of suffering at all.

There was just peace.

It was all I felt when I slowly regained consciousness that afternoon. Peacefulness was accompanied with my head resting on something comfortable and fluffy. No doubt a pillow. I pulled the covers up to my shoulders as I turned on my side to get a better position to sleep in. A small twinge of pain kicked in my side, but I don't think I noticed it at the time. The only thing that was on my mind was the desire to go back to a good sleep. Exhaling in relaxation, I was prepared to go back to sleep. I couldn't remember what happened before I fell asleep, and I didn't care. Recollection of any discomfort or pain would cause me to stay awake and I didn't want that. A good, deep and dreamless sleep was enough to satisfy me.

I felt movement beside me, but I didn't let that distract me. An exhausted sigh sounded close to me, or at least close enough so that I could feel the tiniest bit of warm breath touch my cheek. That kind of made me feel a bit uncomfortable and a bit disappointed because it ruined my concentration on trying to get back to sleep.

It was silent for a while, which pleased me. But do you know that place where you go in your sleep? That place where you know in the darkness that you're awake, but you are just beginning to dream? I was in that place when I was snapped back into reality. Just when I was about to return to a heavy sleep, a hand was gently placed on my forehead. It was only on there for a split second when I bolted upright on the bed I rested on to a sitting position, letting out a short surprised and panicked scream. Apparently, I was not prepared for that. It was almost as if I had woken up from a horrible nightmare. My eyes flew open, wide with fear, as my chest heaved in and out to catch my breath, while my head tried to clear itself in order to remember where I was, what I was doing there, and how I had gotten there in the first place.

Whoever had been sitting at my side got up from their seat so that they could put their hands on my shoulders to look at me in the face. At first, I couldn't recognize the face of the person who sat himself in front of me on the bed during my confusion. It scared me even more.

"No-no-no," he tried to calm my sudden panic down. "It's okay. You're okay. You're okay,"

As soon as I had come to my senses, I realized that it was only Bruce. I took a sigh of relief...

But then I remembered all the details of the previous night.

I looked up to face my godfather, cautious of what would happen next. I knew nothing too serious would happen but...he was Batman. And I felt totally confused.

Bruce looked wary too. The way his eyes took in my face made him look like the sound of my voice would make him cringe. I composed myself, took a deep breath, and tried to stay as calm as best as I could.

"Can you tell me something?" I asked, managing to get the words out of my mouth. "...That--um--Whatever happened last night was just a dream, right? I mean, you really can't be--I mean...Was it just a dream?"

Bruce's face was still as he pondered to answer that question. It seemed to be hours of nothing but awkward silence between us. Still, I patiently waited for an answer. Finally, Bruce slowly closed his eyes and sighed.

"I wish it was," he replied softly. "...But I'm afraid it's true,"

Still puzzled, I shook my head.

"No," I was still in a small state of denial. "I--It can't be. I mean...Don't you hate bats?"

To this response, Bruce lightly smiled.

"It's hard to explain," he replied again.

I sighed, a small part of me frustrated at all this. How was it hard to explain? I had just found out that my godfather has been secretly sneaking out at night in a cape and mask to fight Gotham City's most dangerous criminals. I think the hard part was pretty much explained.

Bruce probably noticed my irritation for being even more confused, so he changed the subject.

"Listen," he started. "I know that this is all very strange, but if you listen to me, maybe we can start over,"

The room was still while I thought of my answer to his suggestion. At this point, I was really confused, and I had a whole of questions that needed to be answered.

I sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon.

"All right," I exhaled a breath that I held in. "Two things though: 1- I ask questions first and then you explain. And 2-..." I looked down, a bit embarrassed. "I get to eat something. I'm really hungry,"

To this, Bruce lighly smiled. I remembered that smile now. It was always very understanding and always seemed very amused in a way.

"Fair enough," he softly said, nodding.

Letting out a breath, I slowly sat up, preparing to get myself out. Here we go: Another day of confusion explained to be caused by some reason that would either be or, more than likely, not be normal. Unlike last night, it was less painful to move. My side wasn't hurting that much as well as my had. However, there was still a bit of fuzziness on my mind, but I hoped to myself that it would only last to the end of the day...Or at least until I knew the answers to my dark, mind-boggling questions.

I planted my feet on the ground as Bruce stood up from his chair. His presence gave off the vibe that he was preparing to act if I was still a bit woozy in my movements. But he allowed me to take my time to fully stand up.

When we started to walk out of the room, Bruce seemed hesitant to put his hand on my shoulder, like he always did. He ended up putting his hands in his pockets and walked beside me down the hallway to the top of the stairs.

I thought to myself: What would feel more strange to me? The fact that it would feel awkward for him putting a hand on my shoulder after what happened last night? Or how awkward it was even more because he didn't? I couldn't decide on which. The situation and the silence between us alone was awkward enough.

As I walked behind him down the stairs, I looked around the huge living room area that laid before us and a flood of memories came rushing back to me. When I looked at the windows overlooking the city, I would see Batman. With every step I took down the stairs, I thought of how I hid under this very winding black staircase. I remembered everything.

The next thing I knew, my legs gave out and I started to crumple. I didn't make any noise of surprise or anything, but Bruce acted quickly. He was able to wrap his arms around me when he turned around to see if I was all right. I had instinctively grabbed the cool and smooth metal stair railing in an attempt to slow down or break my fall.

"Are you all right?" Bruce's voice was calm, yet worried.

"Yeah," I took a gulp of breath. "I just--I don't know what happened--"

"OK. It's all right. Come here,"

After loosening my frozen grip on the stairs, Bruce lifted me up in his arms and carried me downstairs. I rested my head on his shoulder, trying to relax. I guess my body was still trying to gain back its full, potential energy. Bruce walked across the living room area to a modern black leather couch in front of the television.

"All right," he exhaled a breath as he laid me down. "I want you to rest here and take it easy while I get you something to eat. I'll be right back,"

Staying quiet in response, Bruce left the room for a bit while I rested on the couch. I laid there for a few seconds, taking a few deep breaths before I eyed the remote control to the television set. Whenever I would get sick when my parents were still alive, Mom would make a makeshift bed for me on the couch and Dad would go out and get me something to eat. Sighing to myself at these memories, I reached for the TV remote and turned on the television.

_"Moving onto our next story, the body of CEO for Mason Industries, Edgar Mason, was found dead in the Gotham City River around midnight last night. Authorities say that while trying to escape police force by threatening his 12-year-old niece, Sarah Chante, the goddaughter of Bruce Wayne--"_

I immedietly changed the channel. Obviously, I had turned on the Gotham City News Channel, or GCN as it's called, right at the exact moment they started a story on me. Not wanting to handle the stress of reliving the past 48 hours through constant reminders, I though changing the channel would be helpful.

Boy, was I dead wrong. The other channel was another news-broadcast about me.

_"--Police have not given away any information on Miss Chante's condition--"_

I changed the channel again, hoping to find something peaceful to watch...Peaceful here, meaning anything but a newscast.

This was how it went.

_"--Two nights ago. They had no leads as to who was the kidnapper--"_

Click.

_"--Minor witnesses claim to have seen the masked vigilante known as the Batman on the scene--"_

Click.

_"--Bruce Wayne has not given any comments on his goddaughter's condition--"_

Click. Power Off.

I tossed the remote to the other end of the couch and sighed as I turned on my side, facing the back cushions. My face felt red and my throat hurt a bit. Was I crying? I knew I was upset from all the countless news channels covering stories about my kidnap and near-death experience. but I think I was more upset with the memories it brought back. My body was slightly trembling from trying to contain my emotions. I could hear footsteps coming back to the lounge area. Bruce was coming back. The footsteps stopped and I could hear a plate and a glass being set on the side table next to my head. The remote that rested at my feet was picked up and I heard the TV being turned back on. I groaned a little bit and buried my still slightly aching body deeper into the leather couch.

_"--12 year old Sarah Chante was said to have been rescued late last night by the masked vigilante known as Batman--"_

The TV turned off, of which I was thankful for. Bruce sat down on the couch, gently pulling my shoulder toward him so that my back was fully resting on itself. I quickly wiped stray tears away from my cheeks. Bruce gave a comforting smile to me.

"Come on," he encouraged softly."Sit up,"

I obeyed, pushing myself slowly up, making my back rest on the arm rest of the couch. Bruce handed me the plate that held a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes on it for me to eat. I just looked at it, the starvation that I had minutes before suddenly disappearing.

"I'm not hungry," I said softly, handing Bruce back the plate.

But Bruce shook his head, not letting me protest anymore on the matter as he pushed the plate back in my hands gently.

"Sarah," he softly gave his rebuttal. "You haven't eaten anything with food value in the past 36 hours or so. You need to eat something or else you'll get sick again,"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"Again?" I asked, taking the sandwich into my hands.

"...After I got you to go to sleep," Bruce started to explain. "You started acting very strange and your fever spiked a small bit. Lucius Fox was here earlier. We called him to come check on you and he gave you a sedative to calm you down. There's nothing to worry about. All it was was just a bad case of fever dreams because of not sleeping and not eating,"

I took the hint in his low voice, taking a bite off the sandwich and chewing it slowly.

"He did take a sample of your blood, though, just to be safe,"

Looking down on my arm, I now noticed the bandage on my forearm where Lucius had tad taken my blood. I swallowed my bit of sandwich and asked my next question.

"How did you find me?" I asked softly.

Bruce gently smiled.

"It wasn't easy at first," he explained. "You helped a great deal by calling me on Edgar's phone. If you hadn't, we wouldn't have been able to trace the call...But why did you call me instead of the police?"

I forced myself to look at him instead of my hands, or my plates, or even the floor.

"You were the first person that came to mind," I said. "Whenever Batman wasn't there for me, you always were...Why didn't you tell me you were Batman?"

Total silence.

For the longest time, or what felt like it, Bruce stared at me. There wasn't any emotion on his outside appearance as he thought about how to answer me. Sometimes, his face would be still and absent of feeling, now that I noticed. It is a bit hard to tell what Bruce was thinking.

"I wanted to protect you," he finally said.

"From what?" I asked, my voice sounding a little edgy.

Bruce sighed.

"I don't know Sarah," he admitted, a bit exasperated. "Falcone, Crane, Ra's Al Ghul, Edgar--"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," I interrupted, getting louder and saying my words at lightening speed. "...Who's Ra's Al Ghul?"

Ra's Al Ghul. What kind of a name was that? The first time I said it, the name rolled off my tongue gracefully, but with a dark feeling behind it. It almost sounded like whispering an evil name, that when said, the thing itself would appear out of nowhere and create nightmares that would take a good while to forget. Bruce looked down a bit and sighed.

"...All right," he said. "...If I want you to clearly understand the situation you're in, then I'm going to have to tell you everything that caused it since I left Gotham,"

Nodding in understanding, I sat up, preparing myself to hear my godfather's tale about his mysterious disappearance.

When I asked who Ra's Al Ghul was, there was a look in Bruce's eyes that showed me he wasn't planning on telling me who that man was. Even after explaining the Batman situation or not, I'll never know.

As soon as he had my undivided attention, Bruce told me his side of my story, his disappearance...

Everything.

"About seven years ago," he started. "I came back to Gotham from Princeton for a couple of days for a--"

"For a parole hearing," I interrupted. "...Alfred told me,"

After being confused at first, Bruce's face from being appalled of the fact that I interrupted him to the same old amused look he would give me. As both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Of course. He should've known Alfred would tell me.

"When did Alfred tell you that?" he still kept that same amused look.

I looked down a bit.

"The day Josh and I skipped school to run away to Smallville," I said guiltily. "...I came over to say goodbye, I mean...What I meant was that I wanted to see you guys again...I was kind of disappointed when you weren't there,"

Nodding to himself, the amused face fading into a humble on, Bruce asked me:

"Did he tell you what I almost did?"

Thinking to myself a bit, I tried to remember if there was anything else about Bruce that Alfred told me. Discovering nothing, I shook my head.

"No," I said softly. "Why?"

Bruce hesitated before he answered me.

"...Sarah, I almost shot the man who murdered my parents,'

I stared at my godfather while the internal shock of what I had heard sunk in. At first, I almost couldn't speak. I mean, I knew Bruce would never forgive the man who killed his parents, but I never thought he would be angry enough to try and kill him. I shook my head.

"No, you wouldn't," I said softly. "There's no way you would--"

All of a sudden, a memory that was hidden somewhere in the depths of my mind resurfaced from out of nowhere. For a few quiet moments I sat still with a blank look on my face...I remembered what happened at the courthouse when I was five.

Slowly, I looked at my godfather, who had his usual concerned look on his face. I pointed at him, almost accusingly.

"I saw you that day," I started as the memory became more clear by the second. "You were standing off to the side of the hallway loading that gun. Y-You--You didn't shoot him but...you wanted to...You left Gotham that day...Why did you leave?"

Bruce was silent for a bit as he looked at me, pondering to himself on how to answer me.

"...I was really frustrated that day," he explained softly. "Gotham was practically operated by the mob, Sarah. Falcone was in control of the city for a good while. Back then, good people were being crushed by bad people who should've been locked up for what they've done in their lives. People like Joe Chill...Everyone was scared back then, Sarah. Very few people were willing to go up against Falcone because the cost was their life. Before I left, I went to Falcone's restaurant and spoke to him myself,"

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why?" I asked softly.

"Because I wanted to show him that not everyone in Gotham was afraid of him...But Falcone got me back. He showed me that I still had everything to lose, even though I had already lost my parents. He threatened to kill Rachel, Alfred,...your parents...and you, just to prove that I still had so much to lose,'

"...Why would he threaten to kill me and my parents?"

"Sarah, remember, your parents were just beginning their journey to try and stop Falcone, and back then, the mob knew everyone's weakness...With one word, they can take it all away and that was always the way things were,"

"...Until Batman came," I understood.

Bruce lightly smiled.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Until Batman came,"

I smiled a bit in return, getting more comfortable with our strange discussion.

"So..." I started another question. "What about this Ra's Al Ghul guy? How does he fit into all this?"

There was a look on Bruce's face that I will never forget. It was pensive, humble, almost as if he was trying to describe this Ra's Al Ghul character in the best possible way. Finally, he spoke.

"Ra's Al Ghul's real name was Henri Ducard," he explained. "I met him in China a little over a year ago,"

China?...Well, that sounded too interesting a fact to pass up a question.

"What were you doing in China?" I asked.

"...I was in jail," Bruce calmly replied.

My eyes widened at this.

"You were in jail?!" I asked, bewildered. "Wha--What'd you do?"

"Sarah," Bruce still spoke in a calm voice. "I spent the last seven years trying to figure out why criminals think the way and do the things they do...I didn't understand why people would do such bad things. So I helped a group of men steal very expensive equipment from my own company...But I never became one of them,"

Quietly, I just stared at Bruce, trying to understand why he did the things he did in his seven years of absense. A part of me couldn't believe that he would do something like that. When the other part of me did understand why, I slowly nodded, therefore telling Bruce that I did understand why he did what he had to do in order for things that have already happened to come to pass.

"OK," I said slowly. "So you met Ra's Al Ghul when you were in jail..."

Yeah, that made perfect sense so far.

"...What happened next?"

"Ra's Al Ghul already knew who I was, so he straight away told me about this group...The League of Shadows,"

I raised an eyebrow.

"The League of Shadows?" I asked in a sort of skeptical voice.

Bruce smiled a bit.

"That's what I thought," he said to me.

So far, this all sounded like it should come out of some sort of storybook. But I said nothing about it and listened to Bruce as he continued his story.

"The next day, I was released from prison and I had nowhere to go," he continued. "Ducard told me that if I was interested in joining the League of Shadows, I had to bring a rare blue flower to the monastery where I would be taught. It grew on the eastern slopes of the mountain and I had to take it all the way to the top,"

"Why?" I asked, puzzled still.

"Because the monastery was on top of the mountain...As I traveled up there, people from the small villages told me to turn back, but I didn't listen...There was no where else for me to go but up the mountain. By the time I had reached the monastery, I was exhausted. I climbed up razor-sharp rocks in the middle of a snowstorm,"

Maybe that was why the people in the small villages told Bruce to go back...That, or the more reasonable explanation--They knew about this League of Shadows.

"OK," I said, piecing the information in my head. "Let me see if I can get the rest of this...Obviously, they let you into the League of Shadows...You were taught all these...martial arts and ninja-like stuff, whatever it's called...and then...you came back?"

"...Well..." Bruce chuckled again. "You got most of it,"

Again, more confusion. Bruce filled me in on the details that I missed.

"Over the past year," he said. "Ducard taught me everything I know enough to become the best of the rest of his students there. I had conquered my fears and I was ready to lead the League of Shadows to wherever we had to go. But they wanted me to..._**demonstrate**_..."Bruce rolled his eyes at the word. "My commitment to their definition of justice first...I didn't do it,"

"What did they ask you to do?"

"...During my stay at Ra's Al Ghul's monastery, there was a man who was once a farmer. He tried to take his neighbor's land, but instead, ended up murdering him. So, he was being held prisoner there...When I refused to execute him, Ducard told me that my compassion, as he put it, was a weakness that my enemies will not share...But I told him that that was why it was so important--It separates us from them,"

There was another silence between us. Bruce's words chanted in my head as I tried to understand. In a few short seconds, I did, and a small part of my once troubled head was clearing. I didn't want Bruce to stop telling me what I needed to know so I encourage him.

"Go on," I said softly. "What happened next?"

"I then found out what they wanted me to do after I would execute the prisoner--Ra's Al Ghul wanted me to lead the men back here to Gotham. As Gotham's favored son, I was to be ideally placed to strike at the heart of criminality,"

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"But," I started. "Isn't that what you're doing right now?"

"...They wanted all of Gotham destroyed, Sarah,"

"...Oh..."

_Oh?_ _**Oh?!**_ That's all I can say is "Oh"?! Bruce was almost forced into destroying the whole city!

"Wh--What else happened?" I asked.

Bruce hesitated, looking at me to make sure if what he was telling me wasn't too much, but it wasn't. Everything he said to me so far was making the confusion go away in my head. When he saw that I was fine as I took another bite of my sandwich, he continued.

"I fought the man who pretended to be Ra's Al Ghul at the time--I had to set the monastery on fire and knocked out Ducard to protect him and cause a bit of distraction. Whoever pretended to be Ra's Al Ghul was killed when part of the roof collapsed on him. I never knew who he really was...Anyway, the fire was spreading and I was getting Ducard out of there as fast as I could. He was still unconscious, which made it harder on me. Then, all of a sudden, there was an explosion, which sent Ducard and I out the window and into the snow. We landed on a slope of the mountain and I saved him from falling off the cliff, which was a close one. Another inch, and Ducard would've been gone forever...and you never would've seen me again,"

I looked at Bruce, the realization of him almost killed hitting me like a ton of bricks. He was almost killed!...And it was in that moment that I also realized that his near-death experience may have occurred the same day Edgar killed my parents...

Everything would have been very much different if Bruce fell off that cliff with Ducard.

Sipping my water quietly, I listened to Bruce more.

"I got Ducard safe to a village and left him there, still unconscious," he went on. "I asked where the nearest telephone was or where a village with power was, and a few hours later..."Bruce began to smile. "I was talking with Alfred, telling him where I was so that I could come home,"

The memories of my first day of living at Wayne manor came flooding back to me. The same day I found out my parents were murdered. Slowly, I nodded.

"I remember that day," I said softly. "I was only at Wayne Manor for 5 minutes when you called,"

Bruce nodded, understanding that the day he called was my first day of a new, adventurous, and scary life.

"D--Did Alfred tell you what happened over the phone?" I asked, a part of me wondering if he did nor not.

But, to my surprise, Bruce shook his head.

"No," he replied. "I suppose that the shock that I was alive overwhelmed him,"

Another part of my head was growing clear again as I understood what Bruce meant. I couldn't blame Alfred for not telling Bruce that I had come to live with him immediately after my parents death. I still remember the way he looked when he told me that Bruce was still alive.

When I looked back at Bruce, he was smiling a little. Puzzled, I smiled a bit too.

"What?" I asked lightly.

"Nothing," Bruce's smile widened as he shook his head. "It's just...I thought I was looking at your mother when I got on the jet plane,"

Small flashes of heat made my cheeks red as I looked down in embarrassment. I waited a few seconds before I allowed myself to look back up at Bruce as he continued.

"When Alfred told me it was you," he said. "...I grew worried,"

Bruce's face softened into a look of sadness.

"I knew something must have happened to your mother and father. Otherwise you wouldn't have been on that plane, or they would have been with you," he said to me quietly.

Nodding, I looked down a bit, trying to figure out what to say next.

"...Um..." I thought out loud to myself. "How long have you had this Batman idea anyway?"

Bruce leaned forward in his seat a bit, using his knees to rest his arms on. As he let out a breath, he looked to be in some sort of deep thought until he looked at me.

"I actually started thinking about it seriously the day I came back," he explained. "After you fell asleep on the flight back home, I asked Alfred what happened to your mother and father, and when he told me, I realized that Gotham had grown worse than it had when I was younger than you were. Gotham needed some sort of dramatic example to inspire them to believe in good. But as what? I couldn't figure it out. All I knew was that it had to be something...elemental. Something terrifying,"

My mind was picturing the first day Bruce came back, reliving the moment in my head. The moment he answered and started to explain, I could see him and Alfred on the private jet plane talking to each other in low voices as I slept on the other side. When Bruce said that he didn't know at the time what would be his dramatic example, the day in my head fast forwarded to that night, and a light bulb went out in my head.

"The bat that was by the study," I said in awe, as if I had discovered buried treasure.

As if he understood my train of thought, Bruce smiled a little.

"That's right," he said softly.

I was beginning to understand all of this. Everything was starting to make sense. Sitting up more on the couch and taking another sip of water, I asked another question.

"Did--Did you ever think of telling me about all of this?" I asked. "...I mean, before last night?"

There was another silence before Bruce answered me.

"That," he pointed out slowly. "...That was a really hard decision to make. I was indecisive,"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, Sarah, when I realized that you were placed in my care, I also realized the responsibility I had to keep you safe and the promise I made to your mother and father to take care of you. Everything that I have see you been put through the past few weeks made it so much harder to decide whether or not to tell you about Batman,"

OK, I might as well stop talking and asking questions for right now and let him explain. Besides...I think the look on my face was enough to ask Bruce for an example.

"At first," he started. "I was going to tell you a week after your parents died. I wanted to give you some time to get settled in, but...when you were attacked at school, I reconsidered. I didn't want to tell you my secret until you were adjusted and, hopefully, would start to talk again,"

So Bruce **_did_** want to tell me. Things just got in the way. That's all. I looked down a bit.

"Were you mad that I snuck out to try and get some leverage on Falcone?" I asked.

"...I already knew you were planning on sneaking out, Sarah," Bruce declared.

Well this was a confusing surprise. I looked up at my godfather, wide-eyed.

"Wh--How?" I asked.

"I saw you run out of Falcone's restaurant the day Josh attacked you with a knife at school,"

"But _how_? What were _you_ doing at the restaurant?"

Bruce merely grinned.

"When I was trying to figure out Falcone's nest move, I spent a day or two dressed up as a homeless man. I would sit in the alleyways and listen to conversations..." Bruce's grin faded. "...Then I saw you running out of there and I knew something was wrong. So I hurried home and made it looked like I was home all day so that you wouldn't be suspicious,"

I was still in a state of awe, but somehow I managed to find my voice.

"...You were there all this time," I pointed out. "All this time, and...and I didn't even notice..." I then scoffed at a sudden thought. "I wouldn't be surprised if that cave you took me and Rachel to was right under the manor,"

Bruce was a bit quiet when I said that but the growing smile on his face completely gave him away. I just stared at him, still wide-eyed, but I could've sworn my eyes were growing bigger at this sudden realization.

"Wait, are you telling me--?"

I couldn't finish. It seemed unreal to me to even ask that question.

But Bruce nodded, telling me in silence that I was right on target on where the cave was located. I shook my head.

"I can't believe this," I said softly. "...How often did you watch me when I didn't know?"

Bruce thought for a small moment.

"The only time I can think of right now was the restaurant," he confessed.

I was quiet for a moment before I asked another question.

"When you saved me at the docks," I started. "...Did I scare you?"

First, Bruce looked a bit confused, wondering what I was talking about, before he chuckled a bit. I kept a blank look, waiting for him to speak.

"Scare me?" his chuckle started to fade. "What are you talking about?"

"Did I scare you when I started to talk?" I asked again, a bit more specific with my question.

Bruce was quiet. His face was blank, but his light green eyes kept searching in his head for an answer as he started at me. I took a silent gulp, a quiet deep breath, and explained why I asked in hopes of helping him answer.

"I remember the way you looked at me when I asked you why you saved me," I started. "I didn't show it, but I could tell there was something you felt. The way you looked at me--You just stared at me, just like now...I couldn't understand why I started talking to Batman. It just came out...I guess you can say I spoke my mind,"

After he listened to me, Bruce nodded. and answered my question.

"You're right," he said softly. "I did feel something...A part of me was in shock, another was glad that you were talking...but I guess what got me more was how much you sounded like your mother,"

I immedietly understood what he said. I remember the next night after that when he told me the exact same thing.

I took the last bite of my sandwich and drank the last bit of water in my glass after Bruce told me all this. My stomach felt satisfied and my head didn't hurt as much. Bruce seemed content too after knowing that I had some food in me now.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked.

"Better," I replied.

"Good," Bruce smiled. "Do you need anything else?"

I thought for a moment.

"...What were you sick with?" I asked.

Immediately, Bruce knew exactly what I was talking about. I could tell because his smile once again faded. He hesitated before he answered me.

"Crane's toxin," he replied grimly.

I was completely shocked when he said this.

"_Crane got to you?!_" I exclaimed. "How? When?"

"Do you remember the stuffed bears and rabbits that was in the truck at the docks?"

"Yes,"

"And the night I interrogated Flass?"

"...Yes,"

I slowly realized what happened as Bruce explained.

"After I brought you back to the Manor," he started. "I went to the Narrows and searched the apartments until I found what I was looking for. The rabbits were hiding the drugs Falcone was shipping to Crane..."

A question came up in my head at this time. I can't believe I never thought of this before. If Falcone was shipping the drugs to Crane, then where did Falcone get the drugs in the first place? Before I asked that question, I let Bruce finish first.

"Before I had a chance to investigate some more, Crane came in to set fire to the place so he could get rid of evidence. I was able to take out the two men he had with him, but before I could get to Crane, I was already poisoned. It made me disoriented and the next thing I remember was lying on top of a catwalk in the middle of the storm waiting for Alfred to come get me...I was out for two days Sarah...I'm sorry I hurt you, as well. I--I didn't know--"

I waved him off before he finished.

"It's OK," I said. "...Bruce...If Falcone was shipping the drugs to Crane, where did Falcone get the drugs in the first place? Did you ever find out?"

Bruce nodded.

"I did," he said. "The drugs came to be from someone I didn't expect to run into,"

I looked at him puzzled until he went on.

"The night the Manor was burned down," he continued softly. "I was on my way upstairs to tell you that you were staying with me after Edgar said he was going to take you away, but I got stopped by one of the guests. I tried to get away...but as soon as I heard the words 'Ra's Al Ghul', I couldn't even move,"

I looked at Bruce cautiously.

"D--Ducard was there?" I asked in a small voice.

Even though I didn't know much about this Ra's Al Ghul, or Ducard, whatever alias we're calling him, I couldn't help but feel a chill up my spine whenever Bruce mentioned his name. It was amazing how one name can make a person feel fearful and small. Bruce calmly nodded and continued.

"He knew that I was spending my nights as Batman and he was holding the party hostage to get to me..." Bruce looked down, an ashamed expression taking residence on his face. "I'm not proud of what I did, but I did it to save you and the guests. I had no choice but to completely destroy my family's good name in Gotham to get everyone to leave,"

"...So you _were_ faking it," I said softly.

Bruce turned his head back at me, and started at me, almost surprised. I didn't say it in the form of a question--I merely stated it.

"I think a part of me knew that you were faking it," I explained myself. "I knew you would never do a thing like that unless it was against your will...It had to be something wrong,"

Bruce nodded.

"If you stayed with me," he said softly. "They would have hurt you. They would have taken you away to get to me...Or try to kill you like they almost did to me,"

"...What?..." I asked in a choked voice.

"They set fire to the Manor and left me unconscious and trapped to...Sarah? What's wrong?"

Why were tears coming down my cheeks? Why was it hard to answer him? My throat was sore and my head was pounding with the memories of that night playing over and over again. When I didn't answer him, Bruce moved forward and wrapped his arms around me as he tried to calm me down.

"Sarah, what is it?" he asked softly. "Why are you crying?"

"...I could've done something about it," I managed to speak up.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"...I knew something was wrong, but Edgar wouldn't turn the car around. So I jumped out and started heading back to the Manor--"

Bruce's arms tightened when I mentioned the part of me jumping out of a moving vehicle. I could feel him look down at me in concern as I cried in his chest, but he let me finish what I had to say.

"But then I thought that if anything happened to you, you'd be all right," I continued. "But I needed to get away from Edgar and I knew people in the Narrows would be in danger and that you would rather have me stay with a complete stranger than with someone who hated me,"

Bruce was silent at this for a moment.

"...You thought that if you went to the Narrows during the attack," he said softly, but slowly. "That you would find Batman...and maybe ask him to help you figure out if Alfred and I were all right because you didn't know what happened after you left...and if anything bad happened to us, you would ask if you could stay with him...Am I right?"

"...Sort of..." I mumbled a bit.

I only heard a chuckle come from Bruce when I replied.

"So _that's_ why you went there that night," he pondered out loud. "...For a second there, I thought you lost your mind when I saw you skating down the street and dodging exploding water main lids with the Tumbler right behind you,"

This time, it was my turn to chuckle. I sat up from Bruce's arms wiping the tears from my eyes as a small smile on my face grew.

"Says the guy dressed up as a bat and flys around Gotham at night," I teased back.

Bruce chuckled more, a bit intrigued at my quickness to come up with that kind of comeback. That made me smile more.

"...Um..." I looked down a bit. "...Do you think that he would've if I asked?"

Then, Bruce sadly shook his head.

"I don't think he would have," he said softly. "...My number one priority at the time was to make sure you were safe, and I didn't want you to have anymore publicity. If you just disappeared with Batman instead of going to live with Edgar, like you were supposed to, everyone, _especially_ Edgar would be looking for you,"

I looked at the blank TV screen as I listened to Bruce explain why the Batman wouldn't take me away if I asked, remembering all the news reports on my accident and Edgar's death. When he was finished, there was silence. I could feel Bruce look at me, wondering what I was staring at until he followed my gaze. In an instant, we were both experiencing flashbacks and memories of the previous night's events. Still staring at the TV as if it was still on, showing the news reports, I spoke softly.

"Bruce," I started. "Edgar said something...about my mother?"

"...What did he say?" Bruce asked.

"Well...he said that she was adopted and it really didn't make any sense to me, because--"

"She was,"

I whipped my head to look at Bruce, bug-eyed, and, once again, in complete awe.

"Wh--I--How come she didn't tell me?" I asked. "And how did you find out?"

"Rachel and I found out the day you and Josh tried to run away," Bruce explained. "We were trying to find out if there was anything that we could use to get you back,"

I shook my head.

"But why didn't she tell me?" I asked, still in shock.

Bruce calmly shrugged.

"She never told me and Rachel," he gave a small rebuttal. "And we told each other everything when we were kids...I guess she never knew,"

"Then why didn't her parents tell her?" I asked, still confused by all this.

"...Maybe the same reason I never told you about Batman,"

...Just like that...Everything was perfectly clear.

* * *

Despite the awkward morning, or afternoon in my case, things between Bruce and I ran pretty smoothly. I was amazed at how quick I was to get used to the fact that my godfather was Batman. I guess it was all because of the encounters that I had. Lucius Fox came by to check on me a while after Bruce and I were done talking. He said that everything checked out normal, but advised that I should stay in bed for a day or two. You know, just until I was well enough or looked rested. Although, I spent the afternoon trying to get out, already sick with the idea of staying in bed when I felt fine. But Bruce would always catch me trying to get out.

When night came, I sat in my new bed under the covers looking at my new room. It wasn't at all like the one I had at Wayne Manor. The tile floor was practically clean enough to see my face stare back at me when I looked at it. Everything was in a modern style of some sort, being either silver, black, or white.

My room was an exception--It was either silver, black, white, or, my favorite color, green.

Apparently, Alfred spent most of the day shopping for new furniture for my new room.

There was a few love seats in one area of the large room, a computer desk with a black flat screen iMac already hooked up with the essentials, a few bookcases that were yet to be filled, and a stereo with a couple of CD's already stored and stacked, just waiting to be listened to.

I have to say, Alfred thought of everything when it came to buying stuff for a teenager's bedroom.

Everything I had in there would even make Haley Kingston jealous.

Outside my window, I could see the whole City of Gotham laid out before me. In quiet reverence, I looked out that window, thinking about how much I was going to miss flying over those buildings...The window blowing in my face and hair...The exhilaration of freedom rush through me.

Of course, I was already free from everything that was holding me prisoner, but...I don't know. Flying seems to make a lot of people feel free.

The sky was, literally, the limit.

But, for my case, there was a limit.

You see, after Bruce and I worked things out, he told me that now that I was safe, knew everything, and our everyday lives were as they should be, there had to be a few ground rules. One was that I had to keep the curfew set by him on the school-nights, and keep the curfew set by the city on weekends.

I always had to have a cell phone with me. If the last time I used a cell phone saved my life, the it probably will do it again, if anything should happen.

I have to let either Bruce, Alfred, Rachel, or even Lucius Fox, know if I'm going somewhere.

Anything bad going on in the city and I'm in the middle of it, I shouldn't do anything. I can't go and save the day.

No more keeping secrets.

No more sneaking out at night.

All these rules, I understand and I'll keep them of course, but...

I don't know if I like the idea of not being able to see Batman anymore.

For my own safety, Bruce said that I cannot be hanging around him too much when he's Batman.

So that means no more night-time visits.

No more dark, mysterious friends to confide in.

Just...no more Batman.

Well, for me anyway.

But for the rest of Gotham, their fill of the Dark Knight was just beginning.

I smiled sadly at this thought. Maybe just hearing about the Batman would be enough for me rather than seeing him. Nevertheless, even though Bruce is disguised as the Winged Avenger at night, a part of me will always think of Bruce Wayne and the Batman as two very different people.

I was sick of being in bed, so I casually stepped out of the covers, walked out of my room, and wandered around the penthouse for a while. You have no idea how good it felt to be able to stretch out my legs after a full day of resting. When I made it past the doorway, I felt triumphant having made it that much out so far.

Unfortunately, Bruce's room happened to be next to mine, which made my plan of escape a little more difficult. He said he was going to turn in early for the night an hour or so ago, but his light was still on, his bedroom door was wide open, and the TV was turned on to a news broadcast. I rolled my eyes as I neared his room when I noticed it was another report about me. But before I could try and make it past the door, I heard Bruce talking on the phone.

"Rachel," I heard him. "Is there anyway you can get one of your contacts at GCN to stop reporting on the accident?...Good. Thank you. I'm sure Sarah will appreciate that a lot,"

I grinned a little bit, nodding to myself in approval. Looks like my prayers were being answered as soon as they were said.

"Actually, she should be in bed right now, sleeping..." Bruce continued talking to Rachel on the phone. "Heh, yeah, she's been trying to get out all afternoon, but Lucius said that she had to stay in bed for at least 48 hours, so...Yeah, I'll go see if she's still awake. Hang on,"

Uh-oh. Any smart person would know that that would be the time to officially run for it. Quickly, I rushed back to my room as quietly as possible, jumped into the bed, pulled the covers over me, and made it look like I was sleeping the whole time. It seemed like the perfect plan to cover things up...But then I heard Bruce come in my room and stop at the doorway.

"Nice try," I heard the smile grow in his voice,

I groaned in defeat as I sat up and made myself comfortable against the headboard. My side wound twitched a bit as a shifted my body, making me wince at the sudden discomfort. Bruce got a little concerned as he sat down on the bed next to me.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "It just hurts every now and then. That's all,"

"...OK," Bruce nodded and continued on. "Speaking of which--"

He put down the phone he used to catch me in my attempt to escape bed rest, and leaned forward to my bandaged head wound.

"--Let's take a look at this and see how its doing,"

Gently pulling away the bandage off my forehead, Bruce looked pensive as he concentrated on the condition of what used to be a horrible gash. Now I just hope its a really big scab or something like that. Bruce nodded to himself in approval.

"It looks like its doing fine," he concluded. "Just needs a little more disinfectant. Come here,"

I made a face as Bruce reached in his back pocket for that yellow-tinted stuff and a washcloth.

"I _**really**_ hate that stuff," I complained.

Bruce smirked a bit.

"So did your mother," he said as he put disinfectant on the washcloth. "But she wasn't nearly as good as you were when it came to medical treatment. Put your head back,"

Puzzled, I obeyed and looked at Bruce in a quizzical manner as he put the disinfectant bottle on the bed side table.

"She used the same stuff too?" I asked.

"Yeah," Bruce chuckled. "Against her will though. There were times when I thought she used it more than _I_ did,"

"Like when?"

"...Well..." Bruce sighed as he thought, running his free fingers through his dark hair. "I remember one time when she was staying with Alfred and I one summer while the rest of her family was in Europe. She'd already been there and didn't want to go, so she thought it'd be nice to spend a summer with her friends. Anyway, Rachel, your mother, and I were in the woods behind the Manor, walking by this waterfall and all of a sudden, Jennifer tripped and hurt her leg badly on one of the sharp rocks beside it. I remember there being a lot of blood and she nearly passed out on us, but Rachel and I managed to get her back to the Manor to Alfred..." Bruce then grinned. "Alfred said that that would be the last day he would treat her. She was acting so childish, Rachel and I had to hold her down so that she wouldn't accidentally kick Alfred in the stomach again,"

Bruce was laughing at the end now, and I was giggling as I pictured the story in my head. I liked it when Bruce told me stories about my mothers adventures. It told me more about the kind of person she was...It almost made me feel like that she was still alive. But I casted out emotions of discomfort as Bruce moved a little more forward, the washcloth in his hand.

"Just don't try to think about it," he advised, his hand inches away from my head. "It hurts less if you think about something else,"

I beg to differ.

"Ow," I winced as I felt the painful sting on my head. "Easy for you to say,"

Bruce only chuckled as I sat up more, knowing that he was finished cleaning the head wound. A small smile in response lit up my face for a moment, but then, as I looked out the window, it faded. The city looked so beautiful. Lights from the distant buildings became stars, twinkling in the night. It only took Bruce a moment to see what I was looking at and to know what I was thinking. He turned to look at me again, but I kept looking out the window. It was as if nothing else in the world around me existed, except for the City of Gotham.

"...I'll miss it," I confessed what I was thinking. "...I don't know why, but I'll miss it,"

There was silence from Bruce as I felt him lower his eyes. The atmosphere around us somehow told me that he was thinking of an answer.

"I know how much he meant to you," he started. "...I know that he was the first real friend you made since your parents died,"

Looking away from the beautiful and quiet night that watched over Gotham, I now stared at my hands in my lap, feeling a bit depressed.

"Bruce," I said cautiously, afraid of what I was asking. "Do--Do you think that I'll ever see him again?"

It was hard to decipher Bruce's face most of the time. But at that moment, I could tell after I asked that question, that his answer would not be the one I wanted at all.

It would be one of those rare moment where I would tell what my godfather was thinking.

"If I want to keep you safe, Sarah," he said, his voice hoping that I would understand. "I think the chances of ever seeing Batman like the last few times are very small ones,"

I knew it. Nodding in understanding, I looked up at Bruce finally, taking a deep breath. I didn't want to cry. Not like this. If I wanted to be alive and well, I had to obey Bruce.

"OK," I said in a tiny voice

There was no denying the disappointment in my voice. Bruce showed a small smile to try and cheer me up, but I looked back down at my hands in my lap. Hearing he let out a breath in a sigh, he tucked a stray hair behind my ear, and held the back of my head, gently forcing me to look at him. I allowed this, and waited to hear what he had to say.

"I promised you that things were going to get better," he reminded me gently. "Now I'm going to keep that promise to you, no matter what. But I'm going to need your help in keeping it...I'm only thinking about what's best for you,"

...I guess that was okay to live with. I nodded again, showing that I understood what he was trying to do. Seeing that I was willing to go through with this and help him in his fight against Gotham's criminals by obeying the rules this time comforted Bruce as he smiled a bit.

"Good," he said as his hand left my head and let out a breath as he stood up. "You should probably get some sleep. You need it,"

"OK," I replied as I snuggled under the covers.

As I rested my head on the pillows, Bruce made his way to my bedroom door and moved a hand to turn off the light, but something stopped him. When I noticed this, I sat up a bit, a concerned look on my face.

"What is it?" I asked, curiously.

Turning around to look at me with the same amused smile he always gave me, Bruce put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door.

"It's nothing," he said.

Somehow, I doubted that, considering Bruce's honesty to me in the past. I know that he told me everything, but like I said:

It's hard to tell what Bruce was thinking.

But that doesn't mean that Bruce couldn't tell what I was thinking. When he realized that I doubted his answer, he smirked a little.

"It's the truth," he reassured me.

His face then softened...and he told me what was on his mind with a small smile.

"He's going to miss you too,"

* * *

(A/N: My dear readers, this is the second to last chapter of "Friend of the Knight". Next week on the 17th, which will be my 18th birthday, I hope to update the last chapter and begin posting "The Dark Knight's Companion" as well. I have a few good ideas on how the story will fit in with "The Dark Knight" plot, but I would like some last minute opinions on how you think the story should go. We all know that the movie itself was very intense, and that has made the creation of the sequel a little more challenging than I had expected. I would like your help. It will be very much appreciated. Thank you

Much gratitude~

HarrysMagicSpell)


	29. It Gets Easier

Disclaimer: I don't own "Batman Begins"

Wednesday came around, as did my time to go back to school. A part of me really didn't want to go because I would much rather stay back at the Penthouse and stay in bed. But if I asked Bruce if I could stay home...he would kind of use the fact that I've been asking to get out of bed for the past 3 days non stop against me. At this point, Bruce thought that I would be more than happy to go back to school. My side wound was healing nicely, so that was good news at least. I still had the bandage on my head, still stained with blood from my kidnapping accident, so no doubt I will get stares from people even though most of Gotham already knew what happened to me.

Bruce offered to drop me off at school on his way to Wayne Enterprises. Every other teenager would know that he was using this trick to either tell me what to do with my day or at least give me some advice that would help me get through it. I decided not to worry about that until he would say something to me. Even though Bruce finally told me his deepest, darkest secret, I can still never figure him out. Bruce is always going to appear that there is something he knows and I don't. Good or bad, only time will tell.

We drove to the school in silence, which was fine with us. In time, we'll probably get out of that phase and start talking about normal stuff, like how our day went, what's going on at school...you know: The kind of stuff parents talk about with their kids. Both of us would have to work hard to communicate with each other...and, of course, try not to have too many secrets. Or, at least, don't have secrets as big as being Batman.

I was pretty content with the idea that Bruce was Batman by now. But, obviously, I have to be careful around who I talk to, what I hear, what I say, where I am, and, more importantly, who I trust.

I can trust Rachel, Alfred, and Lucius, of course. They knew our secret. I can even trust Gordon, even though I can't tell him the truth.

Bruce pulled his expensive, silver-black Lamborghini in front of Gotham City Private a half hour before the bell rang for the start of school. As he put the car in parking, I stared out the passenger side window, looking at other students pass by, going about their normal lives as if nothing horrible happened to them. Then, I thought of something I never thought I would dare to think before:

I thought that those kids were the luckiest people in the whole world because they had normal lives.

What would classify as normal in Gotham City anyway?

Not hanging out with a masked vigilante?

Not living with a billionaire playboy?

Or being seen with your godfather, who is a billionaire playboy, and secretly a masked vigilante, and you know it?

So...would that consider me some sort of outcast in the City of Gotham?

My mind went totally blank when I couldn't answer.

"It gets easier, in time,"

Bruce's voice pulled me out of my trance, for lack of a better word. I turned to look at him to find that he was giving me the infamous amused smile everyone gave me. I looked at him, confusion in my eyes.

"How?" I inquired.

"...It just does," Bruce implied that I should take his word for it. "And you don't even realize things have gotten easier until a while after it happens,"

I never thought of it that way before. Nodding, I felt a bit more confident and gathered my backpack and coat, getting ready to head out.

"OK, well," I let out a breath. "Here goes nothing,"

Bruce chuckled as I got out of the car and stood by the open door.

"You'll be fine," he reassured me.

I nodded again.

"I know," I said. "...But I don't know what's holding me back,"

"We can fix that,"

What in the world was he talking about? Before I could ask Bruce what he meant, he had dug into his pocket, took out a small silver box tied with thin gold string, and tossed it to me. I barely caught it. Staring at the small gift in my hands made me even more confused. I looked at Bruce, a puzzled look once again on my face. He just smiled.

"You're gonna be late for class," was all he said.

I hadn't realized the time. Nodding, I gave a small smile and mouthed "Bye" to my godfather as I closed the door. As he started the engine and was beginning to pull out, I stayed on the front steps of the school, opening the gift while my classmates passed by me as if I was invisible. But when I finally opened the small gift, they were the ones who were invisible to me.

Inside the tiny silver gift box was my heart-shaped golden locket.

Smiling as much as I possibly could, I looked up, managing to catch the expensive car drive away.

After fastening my locket around my neck, I thought of another thing that I never dared to think before:

Today was going to be a good day.

"Sarah!"

I turned around and, immediately, an overwhelming flow of happiness filled my heart. Ally was running toward me at lightning speed. I started doing the same and met her halfway. Once we were within an arms reach of each other, Ally and I had engulfed ourselves in a tight hug. I felt tears overflow my eyes with joy as I was reunited with my best friend.

"You're all right!" Ally started crying on my shoulder. "You're here! You're back! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I thought I'd never see **_you_** again!" I said as I broke the hug.

Suddenly, my smile left, and my face had a look of worry on it. Almost identical to mine, there was a white bandage stained with blood on Ally's head. That could only mean one thing:

Edgar.

"Oh my gosh, Ally," I started apologizing. "I'm so sorry he did that to you. It's all my fault,"

"Hey!" Ally stopped me right there. "You have nothing to say sorry about," Ally pointed to her bandaged gash. "_This_ was not your fault. This was your crazy Uncle Edgar's fault,"

"...Um...he's actually not my uncle,"

Ally looked at me confused. I don't blame her. I was almost willing to bet that Ally was giving me the same look I gave Bruce when he told me the exact same thing.

"What? Wh--What are you talking about?" she asked me, bewildered. "What do you mean he's not your uncle?"

Before I could answer, another voice stopped me.

"Sarah!"

The wind was suddenly knocked out of me as Nathan ran up and hugged me with a force greater than Ally's. But I wrapped my arms around him still and returned his innocent homecoming hug.

"Nathan," I sighed with relief.

"Batman saved you!" he shouted with excitement. "I knew he would save you! I just knew he would!"

"Sarah," Ally tried to get my attention. "What happened?"

Ally and Nathan started asking me different questions at the same time. It was hard to just pick out one question and answer it, not to mention try to calm them down so I could explain myself. When I finally got them to do so, they still looked at me, confused. I just smiled a bit.

"It's actually a _really_ long story," was all I said.

* * *

By the time I had explained everything to Ally and Nathan, school was almost over. I had to explain what happened in short periods of time since we weren't allowed to talk in class. But, talk about perfect timing, I was done telling my story as soon as the last bell ran, dismissing is for the day.

School actually turned out OK. Haley Kingston didn't bother me...much, anyway. She did make a comment about the bandage on my head being a new fashion trend for nerds, but that was all she did for now. Some of my classmates, even the high school students, came up and asked me what Batman was like. All I told them was that I was unconscious the whole time or that I hardly remembered.

That was the first official lie I told everyone to cover up my godfather's identity as the Batman. In truth, I remembered everything that happened to me in the past couple of weeks and I always will. All the wonderful times I've endured, the tears that I had shed, the pain that I had felt, the fears I had to face, the mysteries I was a part of, the things that I have done...Everything that happened to me since my parents died will shape my future and the way I look at things.

Significantly.

That night, I sat cross-legged on my neatly made bed in a comfy pair of blue jeans and a form-fitting, short-sleeved maroon shirt, with my homework and textbooks spread out around me. I would have been done two hours ago, but Ally kept calling me, and asking me about the Batman again. Other than that, everything seemed to go pretty normal. I hadn't seen Bruce since that morning, but it was OK. Something told me not to worry about him.

As I finished up my math homework, Alfred came into my room, carrying a mug of steaming hot chocolate on top of a silver tray. I looked up and smiled as I got off the bed to meet him.

"I thought you might enjoy this, Miss Sarah," he said as I took the hot coco in my hands.

"Thanks Alfred," I said with a smile and took a sip.

"Have you finished your homework?"

"Mm-hm. I was just getting my stuff pulled together for tomorrow,"

"Very good, miss,"

I swallowed another sip of hot coco, but then I wondered about something that had just entered my mind.

"Do you know where Bruce is?" I asked.

Alfred looked at me, a small smile tugging at a corner of his lips that seemed to say "You should know". Realization hit me, and I suddenly felt like the dumbest person on the planet.

"Sorry," I winced. "I guess it's going to take some more time getting used to this, huh?"

Alfred still smiled and quietly chuckled while he made his way out of my room.

"You may want to tell Miss Allison that it's getting late the next time she calls, by the way, Miss Sarah," he commented.

Putting the hug of hot chocolate on my bedside table, I sort of rolled my eyes when I heard this.

"Alfred," I started. "I kind of doubt--"

Suddenly, I was interrupted by the phone ringing on my computer desk.

"I told you so," I heard Alfred declare whole-heartily in the hallway outside my room.

I couldn't help but smirk and silently admit defeat as I answered the phone. Plopping down on my computer chair in an exhausted way, I prepared myself for another round of questions about the Caped Crusader from Ally. Honestly, though, I think I've told her all there is to know about Batman.

...Or, rather, I've told her everything that is OK for Ally to know about Batman.

"Hey Ally," I answered the phone casually.

"Oh my gosh, Sarah!" Ally sounded WAY too excited. "You're never going to believe this! I just saw the coolest thing outside my window!"

A smile curled a corner of my lips in amusement.

"What?" I asked in a teasing voice. "Have you run out of Batman questions already?"

"Oh, no, I've still got more--"I rolled my eyes when she stated this. "--But I'll ask you tomorrow. Just look at the sky out your window!"

"Why?" I asked as I got up from my seat. "What is it?"

"Oh-ho, I'm not spoiling anything for you. But I promise you: You're gonna love it,"

Sighing, I went on the balcony that was outside my room into the cool night air and looked around. The wind was slightly chilly, but...it wasn't the reason why I got goosebumps all over me. As I turned to look at a different part of the night sky, true to Ally's word, I saw the coolest thing in the world.

"Whoa," I said, astonished. "...C-Can I call you back?"

All Ally could do was laugh.

"Sure," she giggled. "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Sarah,"

"...Bye..."

I pushed the talk button on the phone to end our conversation, but still stared at the sky above me in awe and wonder. Letting the arm holding the phone fall to my side, I moved closer to the balcony railing to get a better look.

In the sky, there was a light shining in the dark clouds...

**_...Forming the shadow of a bat._**

* * *

(A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, this story is officially done! A fitting birthday present for an 18 year old, don't you think? Ha-ha. However, there is one small thing I didn't do...I didn't put up "The Dark Knight's Companion" yet. I want to make sure I've got a good start first, and make sure I have it just right. If you want anything specific in there let me know. I'll try to put it in there as soon as I can.

Interactions with the Joker?

Anything interesting with Bruce/Batman? How do you want to see their relationship in the sequel?

Reactions to the characters deaths? Rachel's love life with Harvey Dent?

Any maturity gained? Do you want to see Sarah more confident?

I would very much appreciate it if you guys would express your opinions on the aforementioned questions. I kind of need all the help I can get. I would really like this to be better than the first story. Help is much appreciated.

Also, I thought it over, and I do not intend to reveal any made up past of the Joker. It does make him seems a little more creepy if we don't know who he really is...plus, it'll be kind of hard to make up a past for him involving Sarah's life. So, Joker's gonna stay as he is already.

Happy Holidays everyone! (And a happy birthday to me. Ha-ha )

~HarrysMagicSpell~)


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